


Ambrosia

by Cyndi



Category: Transformers (Unicron Trilogy)
Genre: Abuse, M/M, Past Abuse, Rape, Rape Recovery, Sexual Abuse, Survivors, dubcon, escaping abuse, god/mortal, noncon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-27
Updated: 2015-03-27
Packaged: 2018-03-19 23:21:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 69,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3628068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyndi/pseuds/Cyndi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when you fall for your liberator?</p><p>(This story led to some fandom/DeviantArt drama back in 2008. Yeah, that was me! I learned from my mistakes and have changed how I act online. I'm still very proud of this story despite the mess I caused with it.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is Armadaverse and contains UnicronxStarscream SLASH. I portray Transformers as being more open about sex than humans(and there is a LOT of sex in this story). The tale diverts from canon--pasts are different and that is all I'll say--so canon purists may not like this. To those who enjoy dives into the very souls of the characters you're about to follow...let me just say that I gave myself completely to this journey through the most unlikely love between a god and a mortal. I hope those who stay to read are as swept away as I was while writing.
> 
> Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the ride.
> 
>  
> 
> *** * * TW: Rape, [physical / emotional / sexual] abuse, drunkeness, attempted murder, violence, vomit and unsanitary situations. * * ***

 

.o

The throne broke his fall.

Primus bless it, that thing always broke his fall.

A sliver of sunlight shone through a crack in the metal ceiling. It cast light across two orange optics and a troubled visage. The owner of the troubled face remained on his knees, his pale cheek resting on the seat.

Rough hands lifted him by his narrow waist, spun him around and dropped him unceremoniously to sit. Red and purple tangled in the sun's glow, agitating the moon dust that formed a film on every motionless surface.

"Ungh..."

"What's the matter, Starscream?" a distorted figure bent down to stare into his optics. Full silver-gray lips twitched into a mocking grin, "I thought you  _wanted_  to sit there."

 _Preferably without you here, Megatron,_  thought Starscream, though he wisely kept his mouth shut.

"Where did you fail this time?"

Grimacing, Starscream avoided his leader's gaze. "I took too long to answer your request for a meeting."

"Five minutes, to be exact." Megatron growled, "I loathe tardiness."

Searing tension dribbled through Starscream's frame like acid on his glossa. He was late because Megatron ordered him to feed the Mini-Cons their rations--and then called him while he was in the middle of it. If he left the task unfinished, he was disciplined. Finishing made him late--and now he was being disciplined for tardiness.

The unfairness of it enraged him.

Megatron straightened to his full height, the shadows of his silver antler-like antennae and dark gray shoulder treads framing Starscream's face like the jaws of an alien beast. Light glinted menacingly off his purple and silver body, and his red optics flared.

It was Megatron's respect that Starscream coveted. He went out of his way--obeyed orders, practiced, focused--trying with all the fire in his Spark to be the perfect soldier. Something always went wrong, or Megatron  _made_  something go wrong. Everyone noticed when he failed, nobody said a word to his successes. He was an invisible being whose mistakes revealed him.

Starscream found it a tiring existence. Why was he here? Why did he join this army? Why did he leave his old life? He let his optics lose focus, dreaming consciously of himself in the past, an artist bringing forth a blue figure--an incomplete piece. His image reached one hand towards the stars, but its other arm stretched forward, awkward, empty and purposeless.  _Freedom_  was its name. His old self, unfinished, a question life never answered.

 _What is freedom?_  Starscream asked himself.

"Don't bother dreaming of that life. You belong to  _me_." Megatron's voice whispered in his audio sensor.

Oh, to see Megatron squirm beneath him...Starscream fantasized about it every day.  _I'll plug him until he shuts the hell--_

"...but you never will." Megatron hissed as if he'd heard Starscream's thoughts. "Isn't that right, my little whore? I decide when I overload."

His silvery lips twisted in a fanged grin. He slammed his knee down between Starscream's legs, spreading them open. Then he pinned Starscream's wrists to the arms of the throne.

Starscream felt his circuits heating up against his will. Megatron bent down and ghosted his lips across Starscream's smooth cheek. When he came to his mouth, he plunged his tongue inside. Oh, Megatron could probably kiss like no other if he did it gently, which of course he never did. Starscream endured the brutal sucking and biting and the smooth tongue scraping against his teeth. Fighting back was pointless. Megatron didn't like that anyway, he liked his toys to be compliant.

Dimming his optics, Starscream relaxed. It hurt less that way. The hands pinning his wrists to the throne moved and dug into his sides like hooks. He didn't dare move other than to plant his elbows so he wouldn't slide down in the seat. Megatron wrapped his fingers around the nose cone between Starscream's legs. Starscream stiffened and moaned hoarsely. The sensors there connected directly to his Spark chamber. From there he could uplink with anyone for sexual pleasure if he so chose--and it was one of Megatron's favorite parts to abuse.

"Your cone is warm today," purred Megatron with mock affection. "Anticipating me?"

Those icy, sharp fingers stroked up and down the cone's length, robbing Starscream of coherent thought. Out of pure instinct he arched into the touch while simultaneously hating his own weakness. He saw Megatron touching his own codpiece with his other hand. Fumbling until it tilted open to expose his most sensitive sensor wires. Starscream felt Megatron's hands lift his aft off the throne. The open chamber slid around his cone. Sharp wires split the end of his cone open at the seam. He grunted and grimaced, painfully conscious of Megatron watching his face.

"I thought you wanted me," Megatron said into Starscream's audio sensors. "You do, don't you?"

"Y-yes--b-but--"

"But nothing!" Megatron cut him off with another savage kiss. At the same time his uplink chamber buzzed from the contact with Starscream's internals. Starscream heard his master purring in pleasure. He loved that purr, he loved that voice and he loved hearing Megatron overload. Being violated seemed worth it just to watch it happen, even if his only contribution was to lie there while Megatron did his thing.

"Ohh, it pains me to do this to you...I wouldn't have to straighten you out if you simply stopped  _failing_  me at every turn...what did you do wrong, pet?"

"I--" Starscream flinched, "--was late."

"And why is that?"

"I took too long to hand out rations...but, s-sir! They swamped me! They...unh...hadn't taken any nourishment in almost a week! I--had to hand feed at least six! They're so small, they need energon more frequently than--"

Megatron backhanded him, painfully.

The Seeker turned his head away, grimacing. Arguing did nothing but draw out the torture. He hated himself for the words he extended to placate his leader, "I'm sorry, sir."  _Sorry that you're such a disgusting excuse of a Decepticon_ , he added silently. The reply burned around his Spark chamber, an explosion he swallowed along with his pride.

Megatron had him trained so well--he fell for this trap every time. A habit worse than addiction, the destruction of his self confidence.

It was quick as usual. The tugging, zapping and pushing. Megatron's grunting and panting. He lifted Starscream off the throne and slammed him onto the floor, coming down hard on top of him to assert his dominance. Whimpering, Starscream turned his head to the side as his leader's shadow moved above him.

"Mm, yesssss," Megatron licked his lips, "Who is your master?"

"You are." Starscream whispered. His throat ached with the urge to cry. It was an urge he suppressed.

The quiver in Megatron's voice betrayed his nearing overload. "I--can't hear you."

Familiar trembling fluttered through Starscream's cone area. Maybe, just this once, Megatron would let him overload too. He cried out, "YOU ARE!"

"Call my name, pet," he panted. His face began losing its cold composure. Light gleamed off his teeth when his lips twitched away to reveal them.

"Megatron," cooed Starscream. He could feel his body's response turning inward, hot sparks shooting across his circuits. Desperate, he kept chanting his master's name, "Megatron... _Megatron_...ohh--Megatron!"

Megatron lifted Starscream's shoulders off the floor and slammed him painfully down again. Starscream forced himself not to grunt. At this point any moans would be misconstrued as pleasure. Megatron would beat him for it later. His purpose wasn't to enjoy this--he was just a tool to be used and tossed back into the drawer like a human's vibrator.

 _So it has always been_... Starscream mused to himself. An involuntary wince pinched his face. Megatron looked down at him with shadows and hunger in his eyes, a darkness that wrapped around him like a cloak. Starscream felt consumed by the furious void. Each time his leader took him, it felt like a little more of that vacuum slithered into his Spark. One day he'd be nothing but a husk--a metal shell for his ruthless leader to use as he pleased.

At last Megatron arched his back and released a growling moan. Damn him, why did he have to look and sound so sexy? Starscream felt his leader's overload thrumming through his body. He himself came so close to orgasm. Just three more seconds...he felt the first throbs in his loins--

And Megatron disconnected from him, stumbling over to sit on his throne. Slivers of sunlight shone through cracks in the ceiling. He leaned his head back with a smarmy, satisfied smirk present on his silver face. The sun turned his optics into hellfire behind glass.

Starscream still lay sprawled on his back, cone open, his circuits burning for release.

Megatron watched him and chuckled. "What's the matter, Starscream? You seem...tense...did I forget to finish you again? Tch, tch, tch, how neglectful of me."

Starscream rolled to his knees. He looked up at his leader with hungry eyes. "Muh-Megatron..."

"It's not  _my_  fault you're too slow." Megatron reached down and lifted Starscream's chin with one finger, "Take care of it yourself," he threw the Seeker down like refuse, "and make it entertaining this time."

Humiliation made Starscream's face burn. Megatron liked to watch him masturbate. It was an insult to Starscream's pride. Well, it wasn't  _his_  fault he was slow to complete an overload! Megatron moved too fast! Starscream never voiced this. The one time he did, he woke up two weeks later in the medical bay and still had no memory of what happened.

Starscream sat up and rubbed a hand down his own red cockpit. Tremors raced up his chassis. He rose to his feet, slowly, and avoided Megatron's gaze. The graceful movements of his hips and body were an echo from the past. He sorely missed those blinding white days where he surrounded himself in ribbons of color and imagination.

Starscream leaned against the wall and imagined his hands were Megatron's. Bending his knees, he dipped and arched his back. He caressed his own lips, his shoulder nozzles and finally slid one finger into his open cone. Ohh, the pleasure, he couldn't resist the faint cry he wrenched from his own throat.

 _This is so degrading!_ he thought. But he had to finish himself off or he'd overheat. He found it easier if he pretended Megatron wasn't staring at him. In a moment his body picked up where Megatron left off and the sensation overrode his embarrassment. He plunged two fingers into his cone and sent a charge to his own circuitry. It created a feedback loop that mimicked the vibrations of another Cybertronian. Up and in his digits went, flicking his inner sweet spot. He couldn't resist extending his tongue to taste his own lips as he wobbled on the razor's edge between pleasure and shame.

Such was his life. To only bring himself to overload, never to feel it pressed against another body. His optics spied a dust mote floating near one of the harsh overhead lights. Oh, how he envied that dust and its freedom to roam unnoticed wherever the air blew it.

Freedom--he longed for it. He prayed, begged and hoped. Fate answered with this life, this moment, this instant where his body and mind separated in a swollen fireball of shame.

"Ohhh...oh--OH!" Starscream felt the orgasm rip across his body. He arched his back and lived up to his name. Try as he might he could never stay silent when he climaxed. Usually he disconnected his vocal tract when he masturbated alone. Nobody ever heard his shame. But Megatron got to hear it today. He liked hearing it.

"Ooh...mmh...ahhhh," Starscream felt the loop equalize and his overload trickled away. He slumped to kneel against the wall, his dimmed orange optics gazing into nothingness. Even the dust he saw before had abandoned him.

Megatron sat with his cheek propped on his fist, smirking. Starscream's optics lagged slightly, missing the moment when Megatron got up and approached him.

"I so enjoy watching you dance, my pet," he said, running his tongue over his front teeth to remove an imagined imperfection.

 _Go fuck yourself,_  Starscream wanted to say, but again he stayed silent.

Megatron wasn't done tossing out insults yet. No, he still had one left. He planted one foot on Starscream's shoulder, forcing him to sit up against the wall. Then he pulled the cap off the top of his codpiece and pissed old lubricant all over Starscream's face, grunting like it gave him great relief. Like all living things, Cybertronians had bodily wastes to dispose of. Usually they urinated into containers and the used lubricant was filtered and reused.

Starscream sputtered at the bitter, cloudy liquid splashing all over his face. Emptiness opened inside his mind, clawing his consciousness. Megatron was reminding him that he was nothing more than an object. Something to be used, put away and eventually thrown out when it outlived its usefulness. His bottom lip trembled. He secretly blessed the liquid for concealing the mech-fluid tears escaping his optics.

Megatron closed his codpiece and glared, "Are you too pathetic to fight back?"

Not a word passed between Starscream's lips. Why bother with a response? It'd just give Megatron more ammunition to humiliate him.

"You know...this wouldn't be necessary if you stopped making me question your loyalty. You're always falling just short of my expectations." he chuckled, "But what more do I expect? Well?"

"I-I'm sorry, sir!" Starscream choked out over the lump in his throat. He looked up at Megatron and winced under his heated glare. Oh how he wished he had the strength to bury his fist in that mech's face.

"You're  _sorry_  all right. A sorry excuse of a warrior."

Starscream's anger boiled, and still he remained mute.

Megatron squatted down to eye level. He didn't touch Starscream--of course he wouldn't, not after he'd covered him in bot urine--and smiled almost gently. A mocking grin full of dagger fangs and faux sympathy. "I know you want my love. Want is all you'll ever do in this life. It's all you deserve, you  _failure_. Now, chin up. Maybe one day you will do something that actually impresses me."

Every single word made Starscream feel like a subatomic particle. The pain in his throat migrated to his optics. He longed to melt through the floor and vanish. Simultaneously, he wished the ceiling would mysteriously collapse and crush Megatron into slag.

Growling, he bravely wiped his face and flicked the fluids across Megatron's feet.

The response was immediate. Starscream never saw the movement--one second he was sitting and the next found him kicked into another wall. Static crackled in his audio sensors. His leader gave his most poisonous glare, a look promising torture and death.

"One of these days...one of these days I will stop caring enough to keep you alive. When that day comes, pray to Primus that I do it quick."

Starscream wisely stayed where he fell as Megatron stomped past him to reach the door. Then, and only then, did he give in and let his tears escape. He thanked the stars he held them in this long. Tears always came easily to Starscream--he just learned how to shut off their outflow valves so they flowed into his coolant system. It soon became habit and after awhile nobody paid any mind to how his lips sometimes quivered after he left Megatron's presence.

He glanced up a few times. It felt like eyes were on him, eyes he couldn't see. This had been happening to him for as long as he could remember--like tasting a shadow or hearing a star flicker--there but not really there. The sensation faded and he hung his head once again.

After he regained control of himself, Starscream got to his feet and walked with purpose past Megatron's throne. He paid no heed to the purple and silver shape of Sideways leaning casually on the wall opposite of the door.

"Starscream."

The Seeker paused without turning.

"Rough day?"

"Go to hell!" growled Starscream. He leaned against the wall, a hand over his face, "Take Megatron with you on the way, too. That would make my life a lot better."

Sideways shifted and his purple optics gained a knowing gleam. "Starscream, hey..."

"What now?" Didn't Sideways see that he wanted to just wallow in his misery for one more minute before he cleaned up?

"Keep your mind open."

"Huh?"

"You'll see."

Without another word, Sideways turned and strolled away.

Snarling, Starscream slipped into his own private quarters. He punched the wall to the left of the door--its metal surface already had dents from constant abuse. Residing within the mangled metal was a lifelike engraving of Megatron's face. Starscream's repeated blows left a diagonal slash across its cheeks and marred its left optic.

Swindle leapt to attention. He'd been resting on a corner of the recharge berth up until then. Starscream gestured for him to go back to sleep and turned away.

"It's nothing, Swindle. I'm okay."

The Mini-Con beeped his concerns. Sometimes it seemed like Swindle was the only one who didn't look at him like walking junk.

Starscream merely shook his head. "I appreciate it, but really, I'm fine."

A shower under the hot spray-wash blasted the nasty waste off his metal skin. He planted his hands on the wall while the cleaning jets descended to spray his lower half clean.

 _Primus, I hate it when he uses me!_ Starscream cursed,  _It's my looks...Cyclonus and Demolishor look like garbage heaps. Megatron has had it in for me for...I can't hardly remember...he said I was so good looking when he first met me. It went to hell from there. I used to be blue, I used to have silver eyes, and he reformatted me. I like red, but I don't like to BE red, and he knew it_...He raised his head to study his reflection in the wall. Water beaded on his lean red body and pale cheeks. His teeth gleamed between his thin, curvy lips--what word did Alexis use to describe them? Cute...she said his mouth was cute. Embarrassing!

He put the humans out of his mind. It hurt to think about them.

All these years under Megatron--literally. It weighed on him. Megatron, always taking his fill and leaving him to finish himself. He growled and shut off the water jets,  _I wish I had a way out of this! It would be so satisfying to make HIM squirm for once!_

Starscream watched the water drip off his body. He waited for the silence to hear his cry for liberation.

Then he turned away, cursing his foolishness. He paid no mind to the tingling sensation of invisible fingers wrapping around his head. Just another phantom feeling that came and went most of his life--nothing worth his notice.

...and then it  _spoke_.

**Your wish can be granted, Starscream.**

The deep, rich monotone glossed over his mind like a flicker of sunlight in an agitated puddle.

"Huh?" Starscream whipped around to his empty room. Water wicked off his frame. His orange optics flickered nervously. "Who said that? Swindle?"

Swindle was recharging again. It couldn't have been him--Swindle didn't talk much at all.

The mysterious voice spoke again:  **All will be revealed in time. You seek escape, don't you? I can grant it.**

"Show yourself!"

Not now, but soon. Follow my instructions and you'll never be  _his_  toy again.

Never be Megatron's whore...what did that mean? Escaping him forever, never to see him again?

**I can teach you how to turn his game back onto him. I've been watching you. I know what you desire. Liberation--it can be granted. Do you desire it enough to risk everything, Starscream?**

It said his  _name_  like it knew him.

The corner of Starscream's mouth lifted. Turning the tables on Megatron? To be the one on top, watching him writhe while he used his sexy body as his own pleasure toy...nothing would make Starscream happier! Megatron needed to be knocked down a notch, and putting such an insult on his sexual prowess...genius!

Then...doubt. This could be a ploy by Megatron to test his loyalty.

He  _wanted_  to believe that voice. This war had no purpose anymore. If he could leave it behind without worrying about Megatron chasing him down...if he could lift away his shame...if...if...if--

Maybe he was going insane. Maybe this was all a delusion. Maybe he would wake up in a few minutes to find it all just a dream.

Why not indulge this dream a little longer?

"I like how you think..." Starscream looked up, his earlier humiliation smarting for payback, and offered himself to destiny. "Tell me what I have to do."

.o

Three Earth days passed, and Starscream counted every hour in anticipation of meeting the face behind the disembodied voice. It had instructed him to wait for a message telling him when to leave. On the morning of the third day, he woke from recharge with coordinates running through his mind like a mantra. Whoever sent them was a telepath--a very powerful one.

The day started out so well. He located a Mini-Con on a distant Earth island while Demolishor and Cyclonus were off arguing about battle tactics. Megatron sent him alone to retrieve the Mini-Con.

Starscream's mind remained on alert for the silent signal. So much so that he never quite focused on his mission. He ended up outnumbered by Optimus Prime, Hot Shot and their Mini-Cons--and failed to obtain the Mini-Con as a result. A humiliating failure...he  _dropped_  it during the firefight and Optimus snatched it up. He  _dropped_  it as if the universe conspired to spoil him in the face of victory.

"You traitor!" Hot Shot had snarled as he warped away.

Deadpan, Starscream stood in the dust.

"Starscream..." Optimus extended a hand. Sympathy flashed in his golden optics. Him, all bright red and blue and  _perfect_ , willing to give his life for a dying soldier.

And in that moment his perfection set Starscream's teeth on edge. He shoved his wing blade forward an arm's length, putting distance between himself and the Autobot leader. " _Don't_. I'm not an Autobot. I don't belong with your kind."

"He'll punish you."

Starscream laughed so he wouldn't vomit. "He'll  _punish_  me if I don't return with the Mini-Con."

"I'm sorry. I can't hand it over." Optimus said coldly, his sympathy now hidden behind walls of rigid military training. He closed his fist around the glowing green tile. His form dissolved as he warped back to his base.

 _What I'd give for a tall container of high grade right now_ , Starscream sneered. He slunk back to the moon base and trudged straight into Megatron's throne room. No point in delaying the inevitable. Without even looking he knew Megatron's eyes were glowing like twin embers.

Starscream tried to empty himself of emotion. He imagined himself so hollow that he'd ring if struck. A walking, talking being with nothing inside to hurt or humiliate.

"You've failed me yet again, Starscream," Megatron hissed, "Care to explain why?"

He didn't dare mention he was distracted by his escape plans. Again, he told himself he was an empty shell, numb and lifeless. It did little to shrink the hot lump on his vocal processor that forced his voice a step higher than normal, "I might have succeeded if you sent someone to cover me!"

From the side, Cyclonus snickered. A growl from Megatron stifled the rude laughter.

"Cyclonus, get out."

"Aw, what'd I--"

"OUT!"

"Geez," the helicopter-bot muttered as he brushed past Starscream. "You're in trouble now."

Starscream flashed a rude Earth gesture at his oh-so-helpful comrade's retreating back. He knew what it meant when Megatron ordered people out of the room.

Megatron rose and swaggered forward, closing the distance between them. There was no point in running, fighting or hiding--it'd just anger him more. Starscream watched his crimson optics coming closer, swirling with disappointment and arousal. They were too beautiful to look away from. He made no sound as a rough hand clamped around his aft and yanked him forward--because empty things were voids, unfeeling--but he couldn't stop the tears. His coolant system ran in overdrive as he wicked the tears from his optics.

"You had better not be crying."

"No, sir," Starscream said, and bit his bottom lip so it wouldn't betray him.

"I certainly hope not. Tears are for the  _weak_."

Starscream forced himself to stop weeping and let Megatron have his way. Pushed against the wall, crushed in more ways than just physically, he stayed silent. He accepted the brutal kisses and painful caresses with the hope that one extra touch might send him over the edge.

"You're quiet today." Megatron whispered.

Starscream slipped his arms around his leader's waist and hid his face. He didn't know whether misguided affection or shame prompted the gesture, but Megatron did not discourage it.

"...too quiet."

Afraid of further humiliation, Starscream made a few soft noises. Sex felt so good, Megatron was  _great_ all the way up to the point he pulled away. Lying back pleased Megatron, so Starscream did it when asked. Like a dog, he'd roll over and offer up his cone. At least this gave him worth in some form...albeit the most degrading one he knew.

He refocused on being empty. A shell of nothing. But all that open space just made more room for hate and pain to flow in, filling him like choking black engine sludge.

Megatron overloaded while hissing in Starscream's ear. Starscream felt a grin against his cheek--maybe--oh, he hoped...he was so close...

The other bot withdrew, taking all sensation and hope with him.

Starscream swallowed his pride and finished himself off without being told. The void he wanted to be abandoned him.

"You are a disgrace to the Decepticon race. Time and time again you fail me, why? You can't even grab a Mini-Con without someone holding your hand! I invested so much time in you...time I could have spent reprogramming more worthy warriors."

"S-sir, I--"

"Stop making excuses for your failures. You've betrayed me once--I still smell Autobot fuel on you from  _that_  stunt--and now you can't seem to do anything right these days. Consider yourself lucky that I still have use for you..." he closed his codpiece, pointedly, with a loud metallic click. "Even this doesn't keep you in line anymore. I'm running out of patience."

Not a word came from Starscream's lips. Everything Megatron said seeped into his being and melted his innards.

Smirking, Megatron turned and walked back to his throne. He won and he knew it. "Now,  _pet_ , you had better shape up. And wipe that pathetic look off your face!"

"Understood..." Starscream's fist clenched. He gritted his teeth,  _You disgusting slag heap! I wish I could rip you to shreds! I'm tired of this!_

Then it was back to his quarters as if nothing happened. Life went on around him, nobody aware of the ugly, invisible marks Megatron left on his mind. He felt like he was screaming in a crowded room and nobody even glanced up to see why.

In his quarters, Starscream looked at a large, black screen mounted on the wall. The left side had buttons in every color imaginable. Once upon a time, his holo-canvas brought him more freedom than ever. Now, it just reminded him of what Megatron took from him. He gazed at it and  _longed_.

 **Someday, Starscream,** the voice whispered,  **You will be that free again.**

Starscream turned. It was instinct to search for the sound even though he knew it only existed in his head.

"Is it time to go?"

**Not yet. The Earth-moon system isn't close enough. I will contact you again in seven days.**

Starscream nodded and flopped down on his recharge birth. Being told to wait disappointed him--he wanted to see the face behind the voice.

**Rest, Starscream. It will all be over soon.**

.o

Seven days took forever to pass. Starscream managed  _not_  to make a mistake large enough to warrant more of Megatron's "straightening out". He walked on eggshells around his leader, saying the nicest things possible just to dodge his temper.

Megatron assigned him to cleanup duties. Yet another degrading job, but Starscream did it without protest simply because it put the entire base between him and the source of his rage. He could've done without Leader One beeping instructions at him. Taking orders from a Mini-Con whose beeps and trills he didn't even understand...how insulting!

Even worse,  _this_  was normally Leader One's job!

 _Grr...but better this than Megatron in my face_.

Starscream had just emptied a month's worth of used lubricant when he heard it:

**It is time.**

The voice held a seriousness that demanded a timely reaction.

"I'll get ready."

Rations were in order--he didn't know how long he'd be gone and wasn't sure if his new friend carried energon. Better to be prepared than stuck hungry. He waited for Leader One to go back inside. Then he snuck into the base, skirted the security system and slipped into the supply bunker like a living red shadow. Anticipation left his circuits tingling.

"Hey, Starscream!"

 _Dammit!_  Starscream tightened his fists. Of all the people in the base,  _this_  one was the most likely to tattle and spoil his plans. He cringed inwardly, cursing fate.  _Just walk on by. Don't ask questions, just grab a rust cookie and get out. Just_ \--

Demolishor's footsteps approached. "What'cha up to?"

 _Damndamndamndamn!_  "Nothing you need to be concerned about," Starscream groused at the large orange and yellow Decepticon hovering over his shoulder. He tried to stay calm and look like he was supposed to be there.

"Oh, c'mon--"

He rounded on Demolishor and glared into his mismatched absinthe-green optics. "I'm going  _away_  for a while. That's all you need to know."

The tank grinned, "Going...or running off like a sissy?"

Starscream didn't bother giving an answer. Demolishor's glowing eyes flared. He stayed planted in Starscream's path, his expression glib in the gloomy light.

"Take a holo-photo, it'll last longer."  _Stupid ogre_. Starscream slid the last energon packet into a panel on his side. "Don't follow me."

"Starscream--"

"Are you deaf, or just stupid?"

"Hey!" Demolishor's lips pulled off his huge, flat teeth, "You're up to something, aren't you? I knew it!"

"Shut UP!" Starscream's patience wore thinner than a microchip. He reached into Cyclonus' secret energon stash, snagged two cubes and ate them quickly. He didn't actually need to eat right then--but he had a long trip and the extra food offered the energy boost he needed. "Where's Megatron right now?"

Demolishor frowned. Up until then he'd been poised to drag Starscream into the brig. "He's recharging."

 _Perfect_.

"Starscream?"

Would that idiot tank ever give up? For all Starscream knew, his mysterious new friend may not wait around. He had to get out  _now_.

"It's a covert operation, okay? Now get out of my way."

"Hold on...what? You? Covert operation? HA!" Demolishor snorted in laughter. "How come I'm not in on it?"

"Because you're too loud. Now MOVE."

Demolishor moved aside, still laughing his servos off. Starscream felt the other mech's optics on him as he cast himself into the shadows. He ignored it the best he could. _Let the idiot stare,_  he told himself,  _he doesn't know anything. He's too ugly to understand_.

Bitterness welled up in the back of his throat like a stinging poison. He never felt more alone than in that moment. All these years of humiliation with no outlet. His only comfort came from knowing he'd soon make Megatron feel lower than dirt. He'd draw his pride out, piss on it and stomp it into the ground! Megatron might kill him for it. His life could end seconds after his triumph. But at least he'd die with the last word, the last laugh, the last victory.

Resolved, Starscream sprinted down the corridor and punched the coordinates into the warp gate. Sideways walked in just before he finished the entry.

"You know, you could get in big trouble for unauthorized warps," purred the purple mech.

 _Damn!_  "I was just--"

"Relax." Sideways' eyes tilted in a smarmy, mouth-less smile. "The warp gate is going to have an unfortunate glitch and fail to log your coordinates."

Starscream could've kissed him. He grinned wickedly instead and hopped up onto the warp pad. Sometimes Sideways annoyed him...but the slimy mech had his uses.

Facing forward, Starscream watched a hologram showing stars drop like a curtain across the warp pad. The anticipatory tingle in his fingertips urged his hands into fists. Sideways seemed to take forever.

The gate activated.

Sideways gave a mock salute.

Starscream uttered a silent prayer as his body slowly pixilated its way into the unknown.

.o

The journey took Starscream through a series of small gate stations strung in the emptiness like stair steps. The last gate dropped him off barely a hundred miles shy of his destination. He transformed and crossed it in a mere hour.

Starscream found himself several thousand miles above the ecliptic plane. Far enough that the sun was just another lonely star floating in space, the cosmic center around which nine other worlds twirled like colored baubles.

But where was his mysterious companion?

"Okay! I'm here! Hello?"

Starscream unfolded into his bot mode.  _Hello? Is anyone there?_  Light from the sun barely reached this far. It took him a moment to register the glorious river of stars marking the galactic hub. Starscream gazed at them for a moment, admiring them...and then he remembered his reason for being here.

No one appeared.

He'd been stood up.

It  _had_  been too good to be true. Now he had to slink back to the moon and lose another piece of himself.

"Great...I knew it! I've been tricked! I'm dead...I'm  _dead_..."

Rage clouded his senses so completely that he paid no attention to the results of his latest sensor sweep until the massive object was almost upon him.

Far too late to react or escape.

 _Shit_...

A force gripped Starscream like the phantom hand around his head. He gave a startled cry and struggled against the invisible grasp.  _Stupid! You should've--_

The Seeker hurtled backwards like metal to a magnet. Then he was turned completely around to face a colossal, glowing round maw framed by two menacing pincers. He put a hand up to shield his eyes and better see his attacker. The jagged "mouth" filled his entire visual field.

"What the...?"  _It's HUGE!_

A familiar voice replied,  **I'm the one who called you here, Starscream.**

"Wh-who...what...are you?" Starscream asked, wide-eyed.

**I...am Unicron.**

"Unicron..." he twitched, trying to force down the nervousness threatening his self-control. "Nice--" Then he remembered his military training and straightened himself out, "Requesting permission to board your vessel."

Unicron chuckled, the sound humorless.  **No, wait there. I'll come out.**

With that, the force holding Starscream pushed him back at least half a mile. Horror choked his intakes when he realized the scale of this thing. It had to be Jupiter-sized!

**You may want to back up some more.**

_What?_  Starscream turned just as the silver ring system he failed to notice before snapped free of its bindings. The loose ends whipped up without warning. He dove upwards, barely avoiding a collision.

Dread tangled his fuel tanks. He had to be hallucinating...

The gigantic maw closed and the entire front of the sphere split apart like wings, revealing black and gold machinery. Everything happened in slow motion. Starscream saw arms and legs unfold--his perspective of them was skewed by his close proximity. He saw hands bigger than ships spread open. He saw the edge of one shoulder sliding into position, the other lost far in the distance. He saw a head as large as a moon flip up into view, red optics flickering online to stare back at him. Lastly, the horns decorating the helm rotated upwards and locked into place.

It was a Transformer so large that his optics were crimson oceans in the darkness.

Starscream just stared open mouthed at this tremendous being before him. He clearly saw his reflection in Unicron's left eye.

Unicron, with his golden armor, his metal beard and the black marks over his eyes and cheeks--his broad chest, his massive wing array, the way his abs glowed red and his...hands...he looked like a savage god!

"Oh...my...y-you're big," Starscream gulped. He would've sank to his knees if he had a floor under him. The scale of Unicron's size defied logic. He didn't know whether to be terrified or enamored.

Unicron smirked--his lips full and pointed, a broad canyon etched into his visage slowly rearranging itself--and it caused one optic to squint. A flash of hunger flickered behind the red glass. The same darkness existed within Megatron, yet in Unicron it was different--a controlled storm ready to strike when he willed it. His hand came up under Starscream, giving him a surface to stand on. It was a continent upon itself, the lazily curled fingers like silver mountains marking a metal horizon.

Starscream had become the dust mote he envied.

The hand moved up until he found himself leveled between Unicron's optics. He bit his bottom lip, wary of the fingers looming behind him. Just one tap from them would crush him like an ant.

Finally, Starscream couldn't take the silence anymore. He spat out the first words that came to mind. "So, um...I don't see how this lesson plan is going to work. It's a bit of a size difference."

Massive optics squinted into red slits.  **Hmph!**

Starscream winced inwardly.  _...I'm slagged_.

Unicron's optics flared, blinding him.

... _I'm going to die!_

He waited for the fingers to come down. He waited for lasers to rip him apart. He waited to be swallowed whole and melted in acid. He waited...

The light dimmed until it no longer dazzled Starscream's optics. His logic circuits did a double take.

Unicron stood a head taller than him--the same height as Megatron. The silver hemispheres that split apart when he transformed were missing, leaving just the whip-like wing array glistening behind his shoulders. His optics shone like human blood splattered on ice. He crossed his thick arms, shifted his weight to one leg and tipped his head slightly in a way that exposed the side of his black throat. Not once did he take his gaze off Starscream. "Is it an issue now?"

Starscream gasped, "What the!"

"I'm a god. The dark god, the Chaos-bringer, galactic grim reaper...the list goes on." Unicron made a sweeping gesture. "I was created by Primus' antithesis. I can do anything I want. You're still standing in my hand, Starscream, I've just altered your perception of me so I appear smaller. I can manipulate my environment as I see fit." He looked up and their surroundings morphed into a silver room. No windows, a closed door, and only dimly lit by white neon lights running along the walls. Lingering in the corners was same cold numbness Starscream always felt around the moon base. It was like a prison cell. "Understand?"

 _I'm messing around with a god! What am I getting into? I...oh..._ he looked again at Unicron's face. Most of his paneling had smoothed away, turning his face into flawless reflective mercury. He looked so perfect. Too perfect.

Unicron turned his head side to side a bit, arching a black eyebrow. Light moved across his seemingly fluid skin like a caress. He rubbed a finger over his own cheek, showing that his face was solid. Starscream's eyes followed that finger, watching it move down and away. He suddenly wanted that hand to touch him. He longed to wrap it around himself and disappear into the joints.

"Does this size appeal more to you?" asked Unicron.

"Um..."

 **You wanted out,** Unicron's voice said into Starscream's mind. He reached out and touched Starscream's bottom lip with his thumb in a manner that held many promises. Even his hands were flawless--not a single scratch, dent or imperfection anywhere.  **I am your way out. Listen to me and I will teach you everything you need to know.**

Unicron's thumb slid to the side. He applied just enough pressure to flatten the lip without damaging it. Then he shifted his attention upwards, repeating the gesture across the top lip. It didn't hurt, but Starscream cringed instinctively and fought the urge to step back. He let his eyes wander to the magnificent silver wing array extending from Unicron's back. The digits moved like hair blowing in a gentle breeze and shimmered in the eerie lighting.

Unicron seemed to take the universe and wrap it around himself. Starscream, being part of the universe, felt himself being pulled in.

"How do you like to be touched?"

"Um..." Starscream's mind struggled to glom onto a coherent thought. The thumb on his lips drove him mad. Had he fallen into someone else's fantasy? "I-I don't know..."

Actually, he found it disconcerting to have a mech he barely knew asking such a personal question. Megatron did the same thing...and that led down an ugly path. But if he was honest with himself, he really  _didn't_  know how he liked to be touched. He had never been touched by anyone besides Megatron--and Megatron only engaged in foreplay for his own enjoyment.

Ashamed, Starscream turned his head. Through the corner of his eye he saw Unicron's lips. Their stillness amazed him. Lips were dynamic, moving things that often reacted involuntarily to individual emotions, yet Unicron's mouth never changed. His whole face was an indifferent mask with eyes that regarded him coolly. But his mouth, set in such relaxed apathy as light and shadow shifted around it, became a fascinating mystery.

 _I wonder if gods get horny_...

Motion at last. The left side of Unicron's lips twitched into a mirthless smirk that distorted half a shadow. Both parted, flashing fangs that put Megatron's to shame, and the darkness that dared reside there was swallowed whole, "We most definitely do."

Starscream gasped. How dare Unicron butt into his thoughts!

"Stop reading my mind!"

"Stop thinking so loud."

"Grr!"

"You're so high strung. That is what allows Megatron to manipulate you, Starscream. You give away too much. Anger, sadness, shame..." Unicron walked slowly around Starscream as he spoke, his rich, smoky voice never rising or falling. "Everything shows on your face. You broadcast."

Starscream stood there, his entire body tense. Occasionally, Unicron brushed his fingers across his armor. Unicron's hands were big and dexterous, arousing tingles under Starscream's metal skin. Still, Starscream couldn't stop envisioning a sudden fist in the mouth. He began to tense even more in anticipation. Especially when Unicron halted in front of him and whipped around to stare into his optics.

"Look at yourself. You're tense." He leaned forward and smelled Starscream's throat. "I can smell your fear."

The tension in Starscream reached a fever pitch. God or no god, he didn't like Unicron stringing him out like this! At least with Megatron he could tell when a blow was coming. Unicron's movements hinted at nothing.

"If you're going to make a fuck toy of me, just get it over with already! Otherwise just let me--"

A sudden, powerful kiss cut his voice off. Liquid, warm, gliding, it reached to the center of him faster than a shot of high grade energon. Starscream felt his knees wobble and give out. He gripped Unicron's chest for balance as his innards twisted in a mix of pleasure and fear.

The dark god's kiss was brutal, but not painful. Compared to him, Megatron kissed like a Sparkling!

It wasn't until Unicron moved away that Starscream realized he forgot to kiss back. But it was so overpowering...it had robbed him of all coherent thought. He licked his lips, trying to figure out the odd, dusty taste lingering on his mouth.

"You have so much unresolved sexual tension," Unicron said against Starscream's lips, "Being forced to finish alone..." another kiss, "it must wear on you."

Starscream felt himself heating up inside. Fear dampened his full enjoyment of the moment. Any second now he expected Unicron to bite his lips off his face. He gulped, "S-so?"

Unicron eased him to the floor. It was cushion like. Was it always that way, or did it just change when they laid down? Starscream's head spun, he wasn't even sure this was real.

"That tension needs to disappear if you're ever going to learn anything, Starscream," said Unicron in a new, purring tone. He kept saying Starscream's name as if it tasted good on his tongue. It made Starscream feel like a person instead of an object.

"But why...me? There's a million other people in my situation."

"Why  _not_  you?" Unicron countered.

"Maybe it's not worth my time."

That thumb on his lips again, breaking his mental walls. Starscream stared into Unicron's suddenly-close optics. They offered nothing but his own reflection.

"If it wasn't, I wouldn't be here talking to you. I'm tired of Megatron thinking he's a god among mortals."

"So why don't you just crush him?"

That wonderful finger slithered down Starscream's cockpit, down his stomach and twirled around the tip of his cone. "Because you need the vindication."

Starscream found himself wrapped in Unicron's wing array. Hunger for something more than energon flashed through his body. Need, aching, built up over the years, exploded through his neural net. It was an arousal so potent that he nearly shut down from the tension.

"Do you want me to continue, Starscream?"

A choice? Unicron offered him a choice?

With no idea where this moment would lead, Starscream whispered, "Keep going..."

The tip of one wing digit popped his cone open and slipped up inside, filling the part of him that ached. Unicron stimulated him externally with his finger while the wing digit slowly built up a charge.

"You like that," Unicron said, "It's okay to like it, Starscream."

Time as Starscream knew it ceased. Reality for him became a tingle threading through his body until even his teeth felt the buzz.

"Oh!" moaned Starscream, his back arching involuntarily. And then...fear. Never before had he been allowed to enjoy such wonderful stimulation. Touch often meant pain. This wasn't painful. His mind and body reeled for purchase on reality--but he couldn't penetrate Unicron's illusion or his own doubts.

He flailed, batted the wing array away from his body and scooted backwards out of Unicron's reach.

"I-I'm sorry..." Starscream hugged his knees to his chest, angry with himself. "I-I just--need a minute."

"I understand."

Just like that. No anger or annoyance.

Starscream faced forward and settled his hands on his knees. Why was he panicking? He highly doubted Megatron would come leaping out of a shadow and drag him back to the moon.

Squashing the illogical thought let him relax. Easing himself to lie back again, he looked up at his golden companion, "I think I'm ready now."

 _I deserve this. I have a right to feel what he wants to give me_.

Unicron bent down and Starscream melted into his firm kiss. Firm...not painful. Starscream stuck his tongue out and explored inside Unicron's mouth. The planet eater had teeth harder than any material known. And his lips...oh...much softer than they looked. His dusty taste turned out to be soil--how strange that it wasn't at all unpleasant.

"Why?" Starscream breathed.

"Why what?" Unicron pressed two array digits into Starscream's wing nozzles. Another resumed its stimulation of his cone. The last one wrapped around his narrow waist.

"Why...ooh...are we--here?"

"Interesting question. For now, let's say 'fate.'"

"Unh...ohh!" Starscream whimpered, his orange optics flickering. He arched against Unicron's chest, clutching at his armor. His mouth seemed locked open as he gasped and floundered in a sea of sensation. He struggled to stay afloat in the chaotic water, terrified that sharks waited for the fateful moment he gave in and sank.

"Let yourself feel it," Unicron whispered into his ear. He turned up his voltage, sending sparks across Starscream's body. Pleasant burning built between his legs and flared towards his cockpit. "This is not wrong, Starscream. Your body is  _meant_  to feel this."

The buildup made Starscream shake uncontrollably. Unicron plunged his tongue into his open mouth. Starscream's hands ended up wrapped around Unicron's horns. He hung on for dear life. He was spiraling to the point of no return. To a happy place where stars and moons collided in blasts of rainbow colors and the only sensation he knew was the itchy vibration passing through his neural system.

This was always the moment Megatron cut everything off.

Unicron didn't stop.

" _Feel_  it," he said, and increased the voltage. "There is no shame."

Something inside Starscream opened its eyes. It sat up, shaking off a pile of chains binding it to the floor, and roared.

He answered it.

"Oh-OH! More volts! AH!"

Unicron complied without question.

Starscream sank further into himself. There were no sharks...just pleasure, wonderful, aching, all-encompassing pleasure. His internals contracted so violently that one of his lubricant tubes ruptured. Mech fluid spurted from his cone. He spread his legs and stopped thinking, his mind lost in a sensation that almost hurt.

He didn't know when Unicron cradled his shaking body to his chest. He didn't know when his overload actually ended. Hell, he didn't even know when the wing array withdrew from his body. He had no tension left in him. He might as well be rubber now.

"Uh...unh..." he panted, trembling. Smoke rose from his joints where the circuits nearly overheated. "Wait--what about you?"

"This was about  _you_ , Starscream. Now relax and recharge. We have a lot of work to do." Unicron placed an energon cube on Starscream's tongue. It tasted sweet, but food from a god was supposed to be amazing. Starscream swallowed it without question. The cube had been barely larger than his fingertip, yet contained energon so pure that his energy gauges jumped to full capacity.

 _I gave myself to a god,_ he realized, the drunken stupor of over energizing relaxing him further as he gazed up at Unicron's smooth metal face.  _And then he fed me...is this a dream?_

Unicron's optics flickered.  **You aren't dreaming.**

"So...I'm not going to wake up back in the moon base?"

"No," whispered the dark god, "You will wake up to the beginning of your rebirth."

Starscream couldn't find a sarcastic reply. He was too exhausted and satisfied to fight. Letting his optics go dim, he slipped into his recharge cycle. His metaphorical self floated on its back in a now-calm ocean whose current carried him towards a pleasant, yet still uncertain future.


	2. 2

He woke up to strange wires connecting him to the wall. A quick internal sweep scan told him his systems were charged, his joint lubricant had been recycled and all physical damage done to him by Megatron was now repaired.

The delicious memory of earlier made Starscream tremble inside. Nobody ever gave him an overload like that before.

Picking the cables off as he went, Starscream stood up to his full height and surveyed his environment. It was a gray and gold cavern that appeared semi-organic. The walls were always in motion, shifting like a breathing chest. In some places, tubing came so close to the surface that he could see pulsations and hear the rushing sound as fluids were pumped through. Other sections, Starscream realized, actually changed colors if he stared long enough. The light source of the corridor turned out to be long fiber-optic cables running along the ceiling like bioluminescent creatures. They shifted slowly, mimicking the dance of atmospheric auroras.

The corners of Starscream's mouth tensed with unease. Everything around him seemed...alive.

"Where am I?" he wondered.

Silence. His voice didn't even echo. It should have--the shape of the corridor was supposed to be acoustically perfect.

The Seeker continued on his current path, rounding another corner to find himself staring down an even darker hallway. He followed it.

The path simply ended in a wall. He found it with his nose--no light. The darkness reminded him of Unicron. Darkness was a veil of mystery, a black shroud capable of revealing and concealing.

Suddenly, the floor shifted like a conveyor belt. Starscream fell on his aft.

"Hey! Whoever is doing this, you aren't funny!"

**You really don't want to go that way, Starscream,** came Unicron's cool reply.

"Why?"

**You're inside my body. _That_  corridor leads to my waste management system. You really don't want to swim in sewage, do you?**

Starscream jumped away from the wall as if it bit him. His metal feet clattered on the hard ground and his right wing slammed into the opposite wall. Gasping, he turned to touch the wall he just ran into, terrified that he'd damaged it. Then he shook his head. Such a miniscule bump wouldn't hurt Unicron!

"So I'm--inside you?"

**Correct.**

Grumbling, Starscream backtracked until the lights came on--just in time for him to smack into another wall.

"Stop doing that!"

**Are you always this temperamental when you first wake up?**

"I am when my oh-so-polite host decides to run me into walls."

Silence...no witty retort...which aggravated Starscream even more. If  _this_  was what he had to put up with for his entire stay, he swore he'd just head back to the moon base and forget the whole deal.

_Megatron is probably aware that I'm gone now,_ Starscream thought to himself. The thought of Megatron, aroused and unable to find his favorite outlet made him smirk in delight. It didn't last long.  _And if he knows I'm gone, he's probably going to request a 'meeting' at the first opportunity. I'm trashed if I do, trashed if I don't!_

"Lovely." Starscream groused at nothing. He followed another corridor until it split off in two directions. How many tunnels did Unicron have inside his body?

Distant noises drew his attention. Grinding, crunching and hissing, the sound of something large and hard being pulverized. The entire cavern shook and it came to Starscream's attention that Unicron could be eating a planet right that moment. His eyes widened.  _Not Earth!_

**No, not Earth. Earth's time is not over.**

He shuddered. "You won't digest me by accident, right?"

**No.**

Light once again blinded Starscream's optics, forcing him to clap a hand over his face. He lowered his arm to discover the familiar grays of the moon base throne room. Except, instead of Megatron, it was Unicron sitting in the throne. How odd that he seemed to naturally belong there. He slouched back with one ankle resting across the opposite knee, and his hands were neatly folded on his stomach while his wing array splayed haphazardly over the throne's arms.

Unicron held himself as still as his lips were earlier. He was stone, a being unreachable by anything mortal. Not even the dust floating in the air dared settle on his body, which glistened in the "sunlight".

Then he turned his head and all but his red optics fell into shadow. His gaze welded Starscream to the floor.

"You hate him," said Unicron. "You loathe him."

"I don't--"

"You love his appearance. I agree--he is rather attractive, but..." Unicron let the crossed leg move until his foot clanked down on the floor. The movement was smooth, calculated. He sat up straight and looked Starscream square in the eyes, "...you are even better looking than he is. He's jealous of that, Starscream." Then he smirked and the light passed across his lips as if the photons in the air couldn't resist caressing him.

Starscream stiffened at Unicron's words. He snarled, "I know I'm good-looking! I'm not  _that_  pathetically lacking in confidence! Why do you think that bastard fucks me all the time? If he wasn't picky, he'd fuck anybody. It's such an  _honor_  to be his favorite toy."

"The hate you feel towards Megatron excites me," Unicron went on, never breaking optic contact. His steady stare held an eternal hunger.

Uncomfortable and angry, Starscream hugged himself, averted his eyes and leaned on the wall behind him. He saw Unicron's feet approach and unconsciously dug himself deeper against the wall. Unicron placed a curved finger under Starscream's chin and lifted his head.

"Keep your optics on mine, Starscream. This is your first lesson." Unicron said, tracing Starscream's lower lip with his thumb, a gesture both exciting and terrifying. "Every time Megatron looks at you and you look away, you assert his dominance over you. He can control you with just a look. What you want is to vitiate his control over you."

Primus, his voice was intoxicating. And his touch--Starscream's lips were extremely sensitive to begin with. Having them caressed this way melted him inside. He turned away from it.

"W-what if Megatron calls me insolent for not backing down?"

"Let him strike you, but don't let your eyes leave his. Don't strike back. That will show you have the restraint he lacks. Eventually he will get tired of it and shift his attention elsewhere--Starscream, keep looking at me."

Starscream fixed his orange optics back onto Unicron's red ones. He had to fight the tornado of doubt wreaking havoc across his logic circuits. Having Unicron touch his mouth again didn't make things any easier. Suddenly, he realized the Chaos-bringer was a lot closer than before--he'd been stealthily inching forward during their entire conversation. Starscream wondered how he failed to notice this before. Was the dark god really that seductive?

Unicron went on, "Asserting your dominance doesn't start with sex, Starscream." That delicious finger slid down over Starscream's cockpit. "Display it in other areas, then carry it over." His face came forward. "It's more subtle that way." Another inch closer, his perfect face filling Starscream's view. "Does Megatron watch you when he kisses you?"

Unnerved by his growing arousal, Starscream struggled for a coherent reply. "I--I don't know. I shut my optics off when he kisses me."

"I noticed. From now on, leave them on."

With that, Unicron devoured Starscream's lips.

Starscream fought the instinct to cringe and dim his optics. He saw Unicron's mechanical eyeballs moving behind the red optic glass, staying focused directly on him. It felt so strange to watch...yet exciting too. He saw how the light played off Unicron's red optics and disappeared into the black stripes on his cheeks.

"Good, Starscream," whispered Unicron between kisses, "Now get angry. Kiss me like you hate me."

"All of this  _better_  be worth my while, Unicron," Starscream growled. Unicron had such an obsession with hate. What if he was just a toy to Unicron, too? Something Unicron only pleased to keep it loyal? His scrambled mind tried to recall a human figure of speech involving flies, honey and vinegar…but Unicron's kiss made thinking a near impossibility.

"I can send you back to Megatron if you wish it. You should be grateful I'm giving you this opportunity."

Starscream's eyes flared. He bared his teeth and nearly reached for his wing blade. Grateful? Maybe Unicron should be grateful he graced him with his presence!

"You're angry. Good." Unicron squinted down at him and smirked. "Now, kiss me."

Snarling, Starscream fastened his mouth to Unicron's pouty lips. He glared into his eyes as he thrust his tongue into the Chaos-bringer's mouth. Unicron's body began to heat up. He responded only fleetingly to Starscream's assault.

"More brutal. Make it..." he pulled Starscream against him, "...hurt."

Starscream bit Unicron's lower lip with all the force he could muster. Then he viciously sucked the top one into his mouth and let it go. He felt Unicron's intakes release a long sigh.

Suddenly, Unicron clamped his arms around Starscream's waist. The steel trap of a golden god. Starscream gave a startled grunt. He found himself being carried across the room. Unicron seated himself in the throne. The motion was fluid, almost rehearsed, and Starscream felt every twist and vibration of his body. His legs had nowhere to go but apart, straddling the larger robot's lap. It took him a moment to realize the position he was in, that he was on  _top_. He felt bigger than the mighty Unicron, and it was...exciting.

"Do you like it there, Starscream?" purred Unicron. "It must feel wonderful to be on top after so many years underneath  _him_."

"I--"

"Don't be ashamed. You are  _allowed_  to feel this way." Leaning up, Unicron licked Starscream's lips with a casualness that foretold their immediate future. "Show me your desire, Starscream. Show me what it wants you to do."

Being in the dominant position made Starscream almost drunk with bliss. "I can do..."

"Anything you want."

Starscream tried to ignore his self-doubts. He bent over and ran his tongue along the black stripes on Unicron's face. The way Unicron grabbed Starscream's hips and arched up to him proved an incredible turn on. He just aroused a GOD! He had the power to excite a god!

He had  _power_.

"Yes, Starscream...what else do you desire?"

"I want to overload you," Starscream said without hesitation. He had to speak before he thought or else his conscience would drag him back into his cage. The doubts banged on his mental walls, telling him he should be lying back, submitting, not dominating. His doubts angered him. Ire fueled the growing arousal spiraling the length of his access port.

Unicron lifted his chin, his face unreadable.

Without breaking his glare away from Unicron, Starscream reached down and popped his cone open. His lips curled in a snarl as he reached, hesitated and finally fingered the larger bot's crotch plate. His fingertips encountered hot panels and seams, but no access port. Usually there was a release switch that triggered it to open. Starscream couldn't find it, and it embarrassed him. Every bot's body was different, but the only bodies he knew were his own and Megatron's.

His ministrations heated the paneling even more.

_Dammit, I have to ask. This is pathetic!_  Starscream forgot himself and grabbed Unicron's beard, shrieking in frustration, "Where's your access port?"

The corner of Unicron's lips curved into a wicked half-grin that bared one fang. Taking Starscream's hand, he guided it to the top of his codpiece. "Push."

Starscream pressed down. A small panel on the front of Unicron's crotch slid out like a drawer. It was barely large enough to accommodate two fingers.

Why did he have such a tiny port?

Starscream shrugged mentally. He stuck his finger into the port and felt around. It was loaded, absolutely  _loaded_  with scorching sensors and pulsating lubricant tubing. Heat sinks lined the sides. Lights blinked near the outer edges.

Unicron arched an optic ridge. "I won't break, Starscream. Jam it in."

"Jam it?"

"Starscream," Unicron leaned over, his voice stern, "I am  _not_  Megatron. I  _want_  you to touch me. Here, I'll even get you started." He took Starscream's hand, guided it down and shoved it hard into his open port--so hard that metal screeched on metal. A shudder ran the length of his body. "See? Is that so difficult?"

Starscream stared at how his finger was buried up to the first knuckle in wires, metal and the dark god's growing lust. He could see sparks spitting around his fingertip.

He hung his head, trembling, wanting desperately to escape the self-defeating thoughts trying to hold him prisoner. They circled his processors like the links of a chain that bound his consciousness to a single idea.

Except it never was  _his_  idea. It was Megatron's.

And for now, the chain was stronger than him. He lifted his finger, not yet ready to take that step.

"I think..." Starscream lifted himself off Unicron's lap, "...I'd like to explore a bit--if you don't mind, that is. Maybe...if I do that, I'll feel like--"

"If that is what you want." Unicron gestured to himself, the smirk never leaving his expression. "Then it pleases me."

Starscream wanted to smile but he bit that urge back. He let his fingers slide all over Unicron's torso, taking in the textures and surfaces. Long ago, he moved his hands that way to bring life to his imagination. The familiarity washed over him, easing his tension. He forgot, briefly, that he touched a living being and not holographic gas. Unicron had so many  _details_  on his body--a zig zag seam in the center of his chest, lights, panels, sensors...they were fascinating.

He straightened and his tongue traced Unicron's black facial stripes. They tasted like hot metal and oil. Starscream  _loved_  oil, the thicker the better. He kissed his way down Unicron's body to the open port. It stuck out like a tantalizing doorway to something amazing. Within it laid a maze of fiber optic neural cables extending all the way to Unicron's Spark chamber.

_Think of it as another body part. You're exploring_.

Starscream outlined the port with his tongue before tasting the rubbery wires and copper-flavored circuits nestled within. He imagined the feedback signals he generated zipping along on their predetermined paths, bringing light to Unicron's dark internals before exploding forth as miniature lightning strikes across their destination.

"Star _scream_ ," Unicron whispered. He gripped the arms of the throne and stared down through burning red eyes, his gaze maddeningly opaque.

Starscream probed deeper--every Transformer had one sweet spot somewhere inside their access port. It could be anything from a line of solder to a cluster of wires. He used his fingers to part the wires blocking his way and shoved his tongue as far down into the port as it would go. There it was...towards the tip, a coil curled around thick wiring...he circled it slowly with his tongue. Unicron's hips arched and his optics lost focus. He released the throne and gripped Starscream's head, holding him there. Starscream knew then that he was stimulating the dark god's sweet spot.

The doubts Starscream felt slowly fell away. He shook off their remains and lapped at the coppery warmth sparking under his tongue. His ministrations generated static discharges that tickled his teeth.

Hardly as sound came from Unicron. The only encouragement he offered was the careful pressure his hands exerted. Sometimes they tightened, sometimes they relaxed...and sometimes his fingers even curled.

Unicron's arousal became Starscream's. Knowing he made a god spark...even in his wildest dreams he never imagined it possible. Yet for all that Unicron still remained in his own realm beyond mortal understanding.

"Ohh," Starscream moaned, intoxicated by the moment.

Unicron calmly pulled Starscream's face off his crotch. Starscream found himself lifted up, yanked forward and violently kissed. Unicron laid him down on the floor. His head moved down--measuring, studying. Then Starscream felt a hot mouth close around his cone and the universe blew up around him. Unicron's glossa was the smoothest thing he ever felt as it slithered into his secrets. His own "sweet spot" was a white cable festooning the front inner walls of his cone.

Unicron wrapped his tongue around it.

Starscream's world tunneled. "Oh--oh my...Unicron!"

"Mm, you taste like hot solder."

Starscream thought lava and water trickled through his body, flowing inward towards an infinite singularity between his legs. Oh, that blessed tongue rolled around his insides like it knew him, and for once he welcomed the invasion. Starscream caught a glimpse of Unicron's tongue fully extended just before it dipped out of sight again. It actually touched the top of his metal goatee. What an incredible glossa--long and pointy, able to reach into almost any crevice. He found parts of Starscream's ports that Starscream himself didn't even know he had.

"Ungh!" Starscream threw his legs over Unicron's shoulders and sat up on his elbows to watch. He was shocked to find his entire cone in the other bot's silver mouth. Somehow, Unicron created feedback with his  _teeth,_  there were sparks literally flying off his fangs. He stared straight into Starscream's eyes, and the way the sun created diagonal patterns across his optics made them seem even deader than before.

The trickle feeling became a stream, then a full blown river with rapids crashing over his neural net. Starscream wailed and flopped around like a fish. "Y-you shoulda l-let me f-finish you f-first! You--OH! Ohhhh--Prim--OH!" his words garbled into plaintive cries as his orgasm arrived.

Unicron took his lovely, sweet time dragging out the sensation. Starscream fell back and grabbed the top of his own head, pressing his other fist to his mouth as if to contain the orgasm in his body. Unicron's hands wandered across his cockpit and sides, trailing delight in their wake. Oh, Primus, he was amazing. When the energy pulses stopped firing, he took his place again on the throne and rubbed Starscream's leg with his foot. It took Starscream a moment to recover. He jumped onto Unicron's lap, trembling in a mix of anger and passion. He wanted to cause the first overload!

"Relax, Starscream. You were thinking too much."

"So?"

"Stop thinking. Just  _feel_. Your body is a room that has never seen sunlight. You're trapped inside that tiny space because you have never seen what lies outside. And here I am, holding the door open for you. Come on, Starscream..."

Ooh, Starscream wanted to punch him. "You're being nonsensical!"

"Now you're angry again." Unicron planted small kisses along Starscream's jaw line, "Give me that anger, Starscream."

"Grrr!"

Starscream felt Unicron wrap an arm around his waist, pressing him against his chest. He jammed two fingers into Unicron's access port. It was intended to hurt, but Unicron stiffened in pleasure instead.

"Star _scream_ , yes, like that...give it to me. I made you angry, now punish me."

_Fine, I'll feed your sick desire_. Starscream jabbed Unicron again and again, each stabbing motion creating showers of hot electricity. Unicron watched him through dead eyes. Once again his hands expressed his pleasure, switching randomly between balled fists and steel claws.

In minutes, Unicron's previously-cooling access port burned like a weapon about to discharge. No Transformer could be more ready than that.

Starscream lifted himself up and lowered his sensitized cone into the port. It barely fit. Static made their access panels crackle like popcorn.

In the name of Primus, Unicron felt  _amazing_! He had total control of the charge inside his port--Starscream felt it tickle down his cone from top to bottom like a hand stroking him. It moved down, then up and even in spirals. The electricity reached his Spark chamber before he could send his return strokes. He couldn't even control his own discharges.

"Ungh..." Starscream panted. As soon as his mouth opened, Unicron lunged in for a fierce kiss.

"Relax," whispered Unicron between lip locks. He rubbed his fingers over Starscream's wings, "Don't rush. Enjoy the build-up."

Easier said than done. Starscream tried to relax his body while Unicron sent delightful pulses from his crotch to the top of his head and back. How this didn't fry his circuitry was a mystery, but he loved it! The way Unicron held him was almost loving. He rested his head on his shoulder and felt those fantastic, large hands trace patterns over his chassis.

"You enjoyed this last time...let's try it again." Unicron slipped two wing array digits into Starscream's jet engine nozzles. Starscream grabbed them and quickly discovered how sensitive they were. Touching them made Unicron skip an intake cycle.

His head still swimming, Starscream got an idea. He glanced down towards their joined ports and focused his energy into the tip of his cone. One large bolt instead of several tiny forked ones. Painful to the average Transformer.

Unicron writhed beneath him.

"Yessssss, Star _scream_!” His voice shuddered along with his metal frame. The pulses he sent through Starscream grew more chaotic and irregular. If they got into synch, the charge would loop through them both and create a nearly simultaneous overload. Starscream dug himself deeper into the port, pressing against the sweet spot his tongue found earlier. Unicron arched and hissed, " _Yes_..."

Tingling spread through Starscream's lower half. He counted Unicron's pulses. One nanosecond, two nanoseconds--there! He discharged the same instant he felt Unicron fire.

ZAP!

Lightning shot between their bodies like a Jacob's ladder.

Unicron rocked back and his grip nearly broke Starscream in half. His red optics flared like twin suns. He panted through parted lips, looking like someone in pain...but it wasn't pain that coursed through his body.

"Sssssstar _scream_ ," he hissed. His left hand jerked off Starscream's frame, slammed down on the arm of the throne and tightened until cracks appeared around his fingertips. His right hand remained in a shaking fist against Starscream's lower back.

Starscream had about three seconds to realize he was making the most powerful being in the universe overload. Then the arc reached his Spark chamber and plucked his neural system like a fine stringed instrument. He shrieked and his body twitched involuntarily. This orgasm was more powerful than the last.

"OH..SH--" his face contorted and twisted into ugly snarls, but he didn't care. He had stepped through the door Unicron opened--he was just his body, and at this moment that body only knew immense pleasure. It was  _meant_  to feel that pleasure. "AAAAAAH--SHIT!  _SH-SHIT_!" His optics flickered and he forgot about maintaining eye contact.

Eventually, Starscream's optics cut out completely. The last thing he remembered was bending his head down to kiss Unicron's parted lips.

He regained his senses slumped against Unicron's shoulder. Everything inside him felt hot. His cone was completely numb, like some body part that belonged to another bot.

_Primus, was it me who felt that, or a dream?_

Starscream slowly pushed himself to sit up. His dim orange optics focused on Unicron. Smoke rose from a few of his joints as well. "So...how was that for you?"

Meeting Starscream's gaze, Unicron gave his narrow aft a little pat. He stayed slumped back in the throne, legs spread and his port hanging open. "I enjoyed it. Watching you go off is more fun, though...Megatron doesn't know what a great sight he's denying himself."

"Mm." Starscream sighed. Just moving his hands required a phenomenal effort. He propped his elbow on Unicron's broad gold shoulder and settled his cheek on his palm, gazing at him. Unicron seemed to respect him--something Megatron never did. It felt  _great_  knowing someone actually thought of him as something more than a worm or a free overload port.

_I could get used to this life_... He traced the other bot's metal goatee. Unicron tilted his head and arched an 'eyebrow.'  _I'm a Decepticon...I belong in the heat of battle. But--it's all so pointless. The balance shifts constantly. What's the point? Where do I stand? Where--_

Unicron's face shifted and his lips fastened around Starscream's, silencing his mind. "In a war," he whispered, "there are no winners or losers--just those who survive and those who perish."

"What if I don't want to fight anymore?"

A one-shouldered shrug. "Then walk away. There isn't a rule that says you have to be on anybody's side."

"What do you--"

But the room melted around Starscream. Unicron vanished. The Seeker found himself sitting on the floor in the same corridor he awoke to earlier. Part of the wall opened and a plain, stainless steel box slid out.

"What's this? Unicron?"

No reply.

Shrugging, Starscream lifted the lid on the box. It was filled to the brim with oil truffles. Hollow wax balls stuffed full of the thickest liquid oil and lightly dusted in rust. This particular kind was only accessible to the richest Cybertronians. They were so delicate that they had to be made by hand, not on an assembly line.

He popped one of the red-brown spheres into his mouth and it fell apart between his teeth, spilling flavor over his glossa. Gooey sweet oil, chewy wax and another wave of gritty sweetness from the rust. He held a hand over his mouth, smiling as he chewed. Oh, Primus, it tasted so good it was utterly sinful.

**That, Starscream, is what sex is supposed to be like.**

"Mmmmmm--huh?"

**On Cybertron, it is said that the only thing better than what you're eating is sex. There is nothing wrong with enjoying a good truffle...and there is nothing wrong with enjoying a good uplink.**

Starscream closed the box and pushed it towards the slot from which it came. The container popped back out.

**Eat them all. They'll clean your fuel tank.**

He really wasn't hungry anymore, but he finished the offering anyway. Each truffle tasted better than the last. Remarkably, the sick feeling in his gas tank disappeared.

"Unicron--"

**Rest, Starscream. There will be time enough for more talk later.**

Starscream seated himself against the nearest wall and turned his optics off. As he drifted offline, he swore he heard chimes tinkling in the distance. The gentle music eased his troubled mind until sleep claimed him.

.o

"Walking in with an attitude like that is going to guarantee Megatron's victory over you."

Discomfort pinched at the pit of Starscream's fuel tanks. He lifted his eyes from the floor to focus on Unicron, who sat again in the same throne as last time.

"I know what's coming to me. Why fight? I just let him get it over with."

Unicron folded his hands in his lap and sat back in the throne. His optics glowed dimly in the low light, showing no clues to his emotions. "You keep hoping that one day, he'll let you overload. Starscream, that ship flew a long time ago. It won't happen as long as Megatron has control of the situation."

Starscream whipped his gaze to meet Unicron's. The mote of discomfort in his belly ignited into a hot ember. He clenched his fists, straightened his posture and faced the other Transformer full-on.

"Much better. See? Look at the difference." Unicron tapped his fingers and part of the floor rose up like liquid metal. Its surface smoothed and Starscream saw his own reflection staring back at him. His posture made him appear more confident than he felt.

Suddenly, the metal surface morphed into a bas-relief of Megatron's head. The image smirked and spoke in Megatron's distinctive voice, "You are a worthless waste of space. All you ever do is fail."

Starscream winced. Unicron closed his fist and the liquid metal shattered like glass. The droplets splattered all over Starscream, silver dew that stuck to his armor. He felt a stinging sensation and realized the droplets had become a weak acid that ate at his body.

"They're just words, Starscream. But you hold onto them. They stick in your mind, burning you. Megatron wields words like weapons. Words can only wound you if you actually believe them. And, trust me on this, I know that being told the same thing time and time again  _does_  warp your mind. Words are a potent weapon if you let yourself be vulnerable to them. However--in the end--they're just  _words_." Unicron's face lost even more expression, if such was possible. He pointed at Starscream and the drops rolled off onto the floor. They left no trace of damage. "Simply let them roll off and they can't hurt you."

"Easier said than done. All I ever hear is how I fail!" Starscream snarled. Was there a point to all this?

Unicron regarded him coolly. "Exactly. And because you believe it, you set yourself up to fail every time. Your mind has been lead to believe failure is what is expected of you."

That tiny ember in Starscream's gut turned into a supernova. "Shut up!"

In a flash of motion he whipped his wing blade free of its housing, ignited it and flung himself at Unicron. Red light followed his diagonal slash. He felt the blade cut through metal and took delight in the satisfying crunch. His smile didn't last long.

Unicron still looked up at him without a scratch on his body. Behind him, the throne cracked and the top half that had been cleanly cut slid almost silently to the floor. It landed with a crash.

Starscream's jaw dropped and his optics nearly bugged out of his head. He looked at his glowing wing blade in disbelief. _I-I cut him in half!_  His knees collapsed and he sank, sucking air into his intakes. Terror wrapped itself around his throat as he realized he raised his weapon at a god. Great, he probably incurred Unicron's wrath. He clenched his body in anticipation of the killing strike. Any second now.

Something moved.

Starscream winced.

The floor morphed into Megatron's face, same as the pillar. It smiled and spoke gently, "You are my best soldier, Starscream. Your service and companionship mean everything to me. You fight like a champion--like a Decepticon worthy of my army. I have nothing but respect for you and your abilities."

Tears misted Starscream's optics. He smashed his fist into the image, squashing it back into the floor. "Stop it!"

"Why?" Unicron asked. He settled back against the throne's backing, which had reconstructed itself to its full glory. "It's what you want to hear. You don't believe what you heard?"

"Of course not!" shouted Starscream.

"Why?"

"Because it's  _Megatron_. He'd never say anything like that to me!"

"Is that the real reason, Starscream? Is it because it's Megatron, or is it because you don't feel worthy of such compliments?"

A hot lump swelled in Starscream's throat. Unicron had effortlessly grabbed the noose of pain surrounding him and cinched it tight.

"It hurts," said Unicron. "You want to believe those words."

The lump in Starscream's throat responded like the charge in his cone during sexual activity. As if the words spoken to him stroked it.

Then Unicron knelt at his side, whispering into his audio sensor, "You  _are_  his best soldier, Starscream."

_If I was, then why does he treat me like slag?_  Starscream thought. He clenched his teeth as the feeling in his throat spread warmth into his eyes, irritating them so more mech fluid mist condensed to cool them.

"You've let the things he says get to you for too long. He's whittled you down inside. He's stringing you along, making you think a compliment is just around the corner. That is why you keep laying back for him. You think that being his sexual outlet gives you worth in his eyes." Unicron's optics were icy and his voice continued to probe the ache in Starscream's throat. "You're better than that, Starscream."

Starscream's intakes hitched as the heavy ache filled his entire being like an orgasm. He watched two golden-hued tears drop onto the floor next to his fist, which was still planted in the flattened likeness of Megatron's face. More tears followed the first two. He finally placed his hand over his eyes and let the sobs come. They were sobs from the depths of his being, resonating through the canyon-sized scar they carved over the last several millennia. Once the tears found a release it seemed as if Starscream would drown in them. He sank all the way to the floor and curled up in a ball, no longer caring how it looked.

Familiar hunger flashed through Unicron's optics. They could be both expressive and dead at the same time. There was always something in them floating slightly beyond perception, like a dream forgotten upon waking.

"I'm crying. Happy now?" Starscream choked, trembling so hard his armor rattled against the floor. He forced himself to sit up and leaned towards Unicron--how silly he must have looked, doing this while crying his optics off. "Does it get you off?"

Unicron placed his hands on Starscream's shoulders, halting him. "We aren't doing that."

"You're in the mood." Primus, he hated how his voice rose higher when he cried. When he hid his tears on the moon base, he could blame it on dust in his vocal apparatus. Now, here, he couldn't conceal anything.

"But  _you_  aren't. 'No' is an acceptable response to my advances. I want you to want  _me_ , or else I won't touch you."

Starscream tried to turn away, embarrassed by his tears. "Why are you doing this?"

Unicron's thumb caressed his cheek, catching a bead of mech fluid. "To make sure you never forget how to cry. Nothing in this universe is worse than pain you can not release."

"What would a god like you know about pain?" Starscream snarled. He wiped at the streaks on his cheeks. More formed, rendering the action useless.

When Unicron spoke, his voice was soft and distant, "Enough to be its prisoner."

As soon as the words left Unicron's lips, the room blurred and faded. Starscream sat once again in the corridor. He leaned against the wall with his head in his hands and continued to weep like a Sparkling. The tears he shed fell into a small depression in the floor, the smooth surface rippling each time he sobbed.

Starscream finally regained control of himself. To his surprise he felt a sense of relief. The heavy sensation locked like a fist in his chest seemed less tight. He wiped his hands all over his face to erase any evidence of crying and glanced down at the floor. His tired reflection gazed back from the tiny ocean his tears created. It was cloudy with the dust particles each mech fluid droplet pulled off his optics and cheeks.

He'd been baptized by tears in the belly of a god.

"Unicron--"

**You're welcome.**

.o

Days of endless, aimless wandering of Unicron's body finally brought Starscream to a massive chamber. Its walls were perfectly smooth and golden like Unicron's armor. Starscream lifted his optics and immediately recognized the vast outcropping jutting out across the way.

_Unicron's head_ , he gasped.  _So this is where it pops out from_ …

Unicron's head was folded upside down and recessed into the wall. Blocky components blocked Starscream's view of the giant's optics, cheeks and mouth. Only the nose stuck up--a silver mountain reaching into blackness.

The compartment holding the head had no gravity. Starscream leapt and floated freely like a dust mote in the dimness. Unicron's face was a mosaic of silver panels piled on top of each other, each ranging in size from hundreds of feet to mere inches. They fit together without leaving any gaps.

Starscream drifted until he came to the bridge of Unicron's nose. It was a mountain to him. He scaled it for fun and perched on the very tip. Unicron knew he was there...Starscream knew he knew...it made climbing the nose all the more forbidden. He pondered masturbating to see if it'd garner a reaction, but quickly discarded the idea. Touching himself while sitting on Unicron's nose seemed as insulting as Megatron urinating on his face.

_Megatron_... Just thinking the name left a bad taste in Starscream's mouth. The parts of him touched by Megatron felt tainted. Days ago, when Unicron touched those same places, he flinched as if they contained invisible wounds.

"Boy, it's quiet."

Silence.

Unicron rarely talked between lessons. He could be quieter than the vacuum outside, only speaking when it suited him. That didn't stop Starscream from trying; Unicron heard his voice and thoughts no matter where he went in his body.

The Seeker frowned and tried again. "It must get lonely out here."

Another awkward moment passed. There wasn't always an answer. Sometimes the reply came minutes to hours later.

Unicron felt social this time. His rich voice rumbled from somewhere inside the walls...or was Starscream hearing it in his mind?

**Not really. I have you here.**

"Somehow...I knew you'd say that."

A sarcastic snicker.  **What more did you expect?**

"I--dunno. What did you do before you met me?”

I slept a lot. Nothing like a century long nap to rejuvenate my sensors. Now, what are you doing on my nose?

Starscream huffed, "Exploring. It's not every day you get to go spelunking in somebody's intestines. So let me guess…your head is tucked between your knees?"

**Good guess.**

"Interesting."

They were quiet again for several minutes. Then Unicron spoke softly, his cool monotone vibrating the entire chamber.

**Do you enjoy the unknown, Starscream?**

Starscream looked up, his orange eyes flickering. "Uh..."

**Let's have a little fun.**

Reality went dark and Unicron's hands raked across Starscream's chassis. His purchase on the god's nose lost, Starscream felt himself tumbling in a void. A hand caught his arm and pushed him backwards. The same hand reappeared at his back and shoved him in another direction.

"Scared, Starscream?" Unicron spoke from somewhere on the left.

Starscream flailed. Any second now he expected to smash painfully into something sharp. "What the f--"

Unicron's arms clamped around him. "Relax."

Hungry lips devoured his mouth. Starscream melted into it. A familiar port slid up around his cone, locking him into place. He fumbled blindly, fingers clattering across a broad chest and square shoulders. His hands shifted upwards to a sharp and angled face. At the same time he felt lips all over his throat, the fangs screeching against his armor. Fingers probed his wings and the tentacles of an array pressed onto his aft.

_Ohh_... when Unicron did  _that_ , he more than made up for his lack of conversation.

Then Unicron kicked off. He sent them flipping head over heels into the dark. Their heads came inches from the monolithic nose--so close Starscream heard the air swish over it each turn. To make matters worse, Unicron flapped his wing array every few revolutions to increase their spin rate. Starscream's equilibrium chips interpreted it as falling backwards and sent collision warnings across his neural net. Self-preservation reflexes kicked in, making his boosters fire blindly. Unicron still hung on, which increased speed even more! He appeared in flashes--his lust-filled bloodstone optics, a smirk baring one fang and the giant nose of his real body zipping past their heads.

Starscream shrieked, "Unicron! W-we could smash our heads!"

"Maybe." Unicron's voice swirled around them both. He sounded perfectly calm, like someone who did this every day. "The unknown makes it interesting, doesn't it?"

"I--"

A kiss cut him off. "Stop thinking, Starscream. Just feel."

Unicron pumped his energy fast and hard. His discharges were frenzied, wanting, and rough. G-forces threatened to pull them apart. Starscream didn't know up from down, left from right, and could do nothing but hold on so his limbs didn't fly off in the madness. His boosters continued to go off every thirty seconds. Unicron timed his pulses to their rotation--Starscream counted them--a pulse each time their heads passed the nose. The sensation splattered through his body as if confused by the G-forces pulling at his back. He whimpered in a mix of terror and pleasure, burying his face in Unicron's chest. Such an emotional conundrum produced an orgasm that made his boosters fire harder. The G-forces became painful fingers pinching at his joints.

If Unicron overloaded, it went unnoticed in all the confusion.

"That's enough for now." said Unicron. He gradually stopped their spin and sat Starscream down on solid ground.

The blackness abated. Starscream found himself sitting exactly where he seated himself before. His sensors took ages to recognize the spinning had stopped and he rested on something solid again--and for those few seconds he believed he still whirled helplessly. Clarity brought confusion...did Unicron just ravish him or did he fantasize it? He looked down at the scratches on his shoulder--marks from Unicron's fangs.

_I didn't imagine it...I've got bite marks to prove it_.

The Seeker reclined on his stomach across the nose, kissing it to thank it for being solid ground. His fuel tank threatened to output and he pondered puking in Unicron's nostril as revenge. The tank settled down, spoiling his plan. He flopped back onto his stomach like a lazy human, not caring that the surface he rested didn't forgive his body contours. Lying down brought back the spinning sensation to a weaker degree.

"That was fun..." Starscream said to himself. It surprised even him. At the time it wasn't, but now that he could look back and analyze he realized the fear and unknown made it exciting. How many Transformers could say they uplinked while back-flipping fifty times a minute?

.o

Another time, Unicron opened a screen in the wall and allowed Starscream to see the universe outside. Before them drifted a disc of glowing matter spinning violently like water flowing down a drain. Its center appeared to stand still, a calm oasis amidst chaos. Across the screen, right in its path, a delicate chevron-shaped nebula of deep blues and purples that spread out several thousand miles. Something flickered near its outer edge. One of the proto stars blasted its shell away and shone its newborn light into the void, its birth announced by a ripple flowing through the entire nebula.

Suddenly, the nebula distorted. Its ravager plowed right into its center. Starscream watched the star nursery warp and glow as the gas superheated. Unborn stars were torn apart. The only survivor was the newborn star--the gravity of the black hole sent it skipping into the void.

In a century, maybe less, half of the nebula would be in the black hole's center. All those potential stars and worlds, lost.

It seems so unfair!

**It is the balance of the universe, Starscream,**  Unicron said in his mind, his voice oddly gentle.  **The same thing happens in a smaller scale. You call it "war."**

That made Starscream hug himself as if his own body made him uncomfortable. War...everywhere...even the universe appeared to fight with itself, warring over existence and nonexistence. He looked again at the star that escaped. From his perspective it moved in slow motion even though he knew it was zooming thousands of miles per second. It stood apart from the violence, striking out on its own.

And in doing so it survived.

**Black holes, tunnels into the unknown...a place where time stands still. People can turn into black holes, too. Bound in eternal orbit around a time in their life they can not escape.**

Unicron fell silent for so long that Starscream wondered if he actually spoke at all. Then his voice resumed, steady and slow, never rising above a monotone,  **Never become a black hole, Starscream. It is not a kind existence.**

Starscream opened his mouth to ask Unicron what he meant...but Unicron appeared and pinned him to the wall. His thoughts were cast to the abyss.

The dark god made an approving noise. Starscream was rather proud of himself for not flinching when those large, talented hands pinched his wingtips.  _Oh_ , he really, really,  _really_  liked it when Unicron did that.

"You always let me make the first move." Unicron looked down his nose. Starscream did a double take at Unicron's face. His angular, perfect features had been softened by the blue light from the monitor at his left. Reflections of it glistened in his dimmed optics. In that frozen nanosecond he became a mystical creature who could pull the stars within reach. Then his voice broke the stillness and he was Unicron again--harsh, angular and cold. "Stop waiting."

Gasping, Starscream mentally collected himself. Unicron had shifted even closer, no longer bound to the soft lighting that held him seconds ago.

"What makes you think I'm waiting for anything? I like it when you come at me with that horny look in your eyes."

"Oh, this one?" Unicron's optics flared.

It turned Starscream on like a light. He gripped the wall behind him, his cone burning. "Take me."

"You wish it?"

"Yes."

"Very well, then."

Starscream didn't get a chance to say more. Unicron descended upon him.


	3. 3

There was a day--a time--something--where Starscream made a wrong turn and ended up in the dark. It was during a lull in Unicron's bodily operations, silent hours where nothing clicked, clanked or hissed.

"Um, Unicron? I'm a bit lost."

No answer.

 _Figures! This is what I get for waking up earlier than usual! Bastard...he's probably laughing at me_.

Frustrated, Starscream continued forward until he saw light. He followed it into the largest cavern he'd seen yet--so large that darkness swallowed the ceiling. Before him, a huge, glowing egg-shaped stone flickered eerily. It was suspended by pulsating cables over a central energon pool. Purple and greenish-white light flickered across Starscream's pale face.

He stepped towards the stone, curious, having never seen anything like it. Before his foot even hit the ground, a hole opened in the wall beside the odd rock and a small, spherical white pod floated out. Starscream froze as the pod came to eye level. His back tensed until his joints creaked in protest. Blue white energy collected within the barrel of the pod's weapon. At the same time he saw a red laser zap from a lens above the gun and felt heat tracing his outline. Searching for a weak point?

Starscream stiffened further, readying himself to dive aside at any moment. "Unicron! It's me, Starscream! Don't shoot! I-I didn't mean to stumble into something I shouldn't see!"

Nothing happened. Starscream wasn't sure if his words or the scan satisfied the drone. He was just glad to see the pod retreat back to its compartment. Why did Unicron's body almost attack him? He thought the dark god was always aware of his movements!

Suddenly, the mysterious stone produced Unicron's image next to the energon pool. The Chaos-bringer reclined, motionless, his hands at his sides and his wing array delicately brushing the ground. He just hovered there on an invisible knee-high cushion. His optics were dark like garnets and...oddest of all...he snored ever so softly. Starscream found it odd that Unicron would project himself like that. It appeared a pointless waste of power.

 _But this does explain why it's so quiet in here and why he wasn't aware of my presence...he's recharging! Stepping in here must activate a defense system of some kind. But why the projection? Maintenance, maybe? Huh...Unicron, you're still a mystery_...

Starscream ventured closer. He'd never actually seen Unicron asleep before. Megatron, yes...but not Unicron.

Shadows shrouded half of Unicron's visage, repeating the image of him Starscream saw a few days previous. His expression was vapid and still, as if it had been sculpted by fine hands.

Unicron did not appear to dream. He looked dead.

As much as their outward appearances said otherwise, Starscream knew Unicron wasn't at all like him. Apples and oranges as humans would say--both a fruit, but not the same. He was mortal and Unicron was an unreachable, unimpeachable god. Unicron saw some of the first light penetrate the universe. He was eternal, distant and unfeeling. Had he lived so long that nothing mattered to him anymore? Had time purged all emotion from him until a calculating, cold husk remained?

Long ago, Starscream  _felt_. He felt the joy of a morning, the beauty of clouds and the simple pleasure of the wind beneath his wings. He was an artist--once upon a time--so he noticed those things, and pieces of his imagination were displayed all over Cybertron. He could record his feelings down in color and shape using holographic paint. Then the war happened and those trivial things lost their importance. Time became a precipice wider than the future. A blinding shower of actions, reactions, pain and battle. Simple beauties like sunsets and blue skies were death traps--enjoying them too long left him vulnerable. So he stopped looking, stopped seeing, stopped experiencing. His fingertips no longer traced his imagination.

He found that beauty again in this sleeping god.

 _What do you dream about?_  Starscream thought, kneeling to look closer at Unicron's optics. There was no movement behind the glass at all.  _Do gods dream?_

Unicron existed for so long that he'd seen it all. Nothing surprised him, nothing sparked his sensors...nothing to  _care_  about. Everything to him just  _was_.

A strange feeling gripped Starscream's throat. Moisture welled in the corners of his optics. He extended his hand towards Unicron's parted lips. He expected his fingers to pass right through, but instead he encountered something as solid as life. Startled, he froze.

Unicron remained insensate. The image didn't so much as twitch despite having its mouth jabbed.

Starscream's finger moved up to trace the plane of Unicron's nose and brow, the motion smooth as if painting on a holo-canvas. He felt the god's cheek and the curve of his jaw, admiring how it flowed under his fingers without flaw. His face was symmetrical down to the molecular level. Utter perfection. Starscream's eyes softened when he saw Unicron's lips twitch. He brushed the back of his index finger across the little hollow under Unicron's bottom lip. That space, tiny and hidden, became the smoothest thing to grace his fingertips. More supple than the finest oil--the kind of excellence expected from a god of such stature.

Starscream stretched out both hands and cautiously turned Unicron's head a scant half degree towards the energon pool. Light and shadow danced gaily over the dark god's rugged features. Glistening pinpricks followed his edges like dew running down pine needles.

 _He's...gorgeous_...

Then he backpedaled. Did he just think that? He laid his index finger lightly against Unicron's mouth as though shushing him.

 _But...he is. Megatron is very attractive...but Unicron is different. What is it about him--and why didn't I see it before? I wonder_...

Starscream slid his finger off the Chaos-bringer's mouth and let just his fingertip touch his crotch plate. Unicron shifted fluidly towards the sensation like metal pulled to a magnet. He was no mortal being, but he certainly had reflexes like one.

It was highly possible to overload a recharging bot without waking them up. Medics often stimulated comatose patients to flood their neural pathways so they wouldn't deteriorate. Overloads had many physical benefits--clearing the neural pathways, cycling coolant, improving fuel pump function and regulating the energy flow around the Spark chamber.

Could he pull the same thing on Unicron?

Starscream increased contact to two fingers, then three. When Unicron gave no sign of waking, Starscream smirked and pressed the top of his black codpiece. The access port popped up with a quiet click.

Unicron's intakes never missed a beat.

Starscream lowered his mouth to the coppery, rubber wires, digging his tongue in until he found that magic coil. He swirled his tongue around the motherboard behind the coil, an area covered in sensor chips. It tasted like solder and steel, the little chips like bubbles in plastic under his tongue. The coil itself was pure copper. Oh, it tasted so wonderful. He sampled everything inside that port--rubbery wires, pulsating coolant lines and even the steel heat sinks lining the entire panel's edges. Chemical smells of hot lubricant and metal wafted across his olfactory sensors. He heard Unicron's coolant pumps speed up and lights around the edges of the panel flickered faster. His thumbs traced concentric patterns up and down the panel's length. A charge crackled around his tongue, telling him the energy buildup had neared its peak. It was controlled chaos inches from his lips. Deciding to finish this the right way, Starscream vaulted onto Unicron's stomach, clicked his cone open and connected their ports.

That last touch was all it took. Static exploded up his cone. So hard, so fast, that he overloaded instantly. The charge hummed through his audio sensors and tickled down his back. He forced his voice processor offline so he wouldn't scream out. Primus, going from barely warm to overload  _hurt_! His silent screams were pain, not pleasure.

Lights flashed everywhere. The ground shook violently. Unicron's true body was reacting to the overload in real time--maybe it always did and Starscream just never felt it while lost in his illusions. He heard systems thrum, shriek and crackle. Unicron had wires and circuits that matched a solar system's entire diameter, which meant the power surge took several minutes to go through his neural network and cycle back to its point of origin. Starscream watched positive and negatively charged step-leaders inch across the circuits buried in the walls. They began pulling off the walls and reaching into the cavern until they met in the middle.

The energon pool erupted like a geyser. Glowing violet liquid splattered all over the room and everything in it. What followed was the largest electrical discharge Starscream would ever witness, and it happened right over his head! Lightning slammed into the walls and flowed backwards across the circuit lines. Continuous thunder boomed through every corridor, a roar announcing the orgasm of a god.

Climbing onto Unicron ended up saving Starscream's life. Being off the ground meant the lightning passed through him--painful--like a fly trapped in an electric web--but harmless.

Unicron's image responded in real time. He arched his back in slow motion, mouth quivering and baring his teeth in a pained expression. His arms clutched at Starscream and his wing array stretched out, surrounding them in sparkling silver. Pure sighs and moans--from the walls, not the image--echoed in the cavernous enclosure.

 **Star _scream_...**  The name floated from the walls as something so fragile that noticing it too long would break it. Starscream heard his name whispered over and over in a chant that dissolved into a shrill keening, a sound like shattering glass. Unicron was having a perfect, unguarded overload with no conscious mind to hold it back or silence it.

Ten minutes passed before the ground ceased quaking and the chaotic background noise fell silent. No more thunder echoed across the halls. Energon stopped gushing from the pool. Unicron's floating image resumed its unnatural slumber as if nothing happened. His face returned to its inscrutable mask, a pond calming after someone skipped a stone over its surface.

Suddenly, Unicron flailed like a person about to drown. Starscream caught his wrists and the struggling ceased.

"Relax, I'll give you another one," purred Starscream. He bent to kiss Unicron's lips, but Unicron turned his head to the side. His intakes cycled three times faster than average. Short, shallow gasps.

 _Geez, take it easy!_  Starscream adjusted himself and began sending his pulses into the dark god's access port.

Unicron's red optics flickered online. He looked up and his eyes blazed.

"Get out," he said. His voice remained perfectly controlled, albeit chilling.

The temperature in the chamber dropped at least fifty degrees. Or maybe it was the icy terror Starscream felt winding down his back.

" _Get_  out."

Starscream bolted. Sparks flew from arcing wires in his left groin joint. Guilt pressed down on his body like a vice that squeezed out all enjoyment of his triumph. He stopped to regain some directional orientation, but realized too late that he never recorded the path he took in his blind panic.

**What did you just do, Starscream?**

"Unicron!" Starscream's shoulders hunched. "I-I thought--"

**You made a toy of me...**

Frozen fists clenched in his chest. "No, I didn't! I--"

Unicron's voice was a harsh whisper, **You made a _toy_  of me!**

"What the--toy?" Starscream balked at Unicron's words. "No! I just--"

Thick spirals of wiring leapt from the wall, wrapped around Starscream's waist and pulled him forward. The tentacles snaked up his cone, into his exhaust nozzles and all across his wings like a million fingers caressing him at once.

"Hey!" Starscream moaned, trying both to resist and enjoy the tentacles taking advantage of him, "Tha-that's not fair! I thought you'd enjoy it! You said I should make the first move...and then you attack me when I do--what the hell, Unicron?"

 **Hmph!**  Electricity flowed through the slithering tentacles. Unicron's voice was absolutely cold,  **And you call taking advantage of a recharging bot 'fair'?**

"I didn't say that. Stop--twisting--my...my words!"

 **Stop giving me words to twist.**  Unicron growled, his voice like black ice,  **I do not appreciate being used!**

"I didn't use you! I pleasured you! I--"

**_Shut_  up.**

Starscream grimaced as the wires inside his cone were probed, shifted and tickled from all sides. A tentacle wrapped around his sweet spot and he grunted with wild abandon. He felt it sliding sideways across his magic wire at the most tantalizingly slow pace, causing his Spark to quiver. Heat lanced across his pelvic area. His coolant pumps thudded a pleasant rhythm. Oh, the feelings Unicron caused made his jaw drop and his fingers curl. He rocked and arched towards those wiggling tendrils. It felt so good that tears trickled down his face. Finally he could take the stimulation no longer and wailed as his circuits overloaded.

The wires didn't go away.

"Mmh...what...hey--stop!"

**Why should I?**

Unicron made Starscream overload three times, and the last two weren't pleasant. The Seeker sank to lie on his stomach, utterly spent. He felt the tentacles tighten around his body and pull him back upright. Part of the wall morphed into a bas-relief of Unicron's face. Though its eyes were colorless...somehow...they glowed in anguish. The wires yanked Starscream nose to nose with the image.

 ** _Never_  do that to me again.** It was said in a shaking whisper that cut like a knife. One last tendril uncurled from beneath the face, effortlessly slipped into the seams in Starscream's cockpit and wrapped thrice around his Spark chamber. Starscream wailed in white-hot agony. His entire body burned. He felt the wire's tip probe the steel casing, the sharp point mere inches from his essence.  ** _Never again_ , am I clear?**

Starscream gulped at the unspoken threat and nodded his head. "Please...not my Spark! Oh, Unicron...not my--UNGH--not my Spark! Please! It's the only thing I can still call pure!  _Please_ , Unicron...not my Spark--please...please d-don't...oh, Primus, kill me if you must, just don't touch my Spark!"

Unicron's optics widened. The tentacle halted just as it penetrated the chamber casing. Starscream felt it shudder--the hallway around him shivering along with it--before it went limp and retracted. The rest of the wires relaxed and eased him to the floor.

 **It really is a cycle...**  Unicron whispered in a haunted tone. He sighed with his whole body, which made the entire corridor rise and fall, and his expression hardened back into an apathetic mask.  **I'm going back to sleep.**

Both the face and tentacles retracted back into the wall, not giving Starscream a chance to ask any questions. The lights dimmed until perpetual twilight cast shadows across the walls.

Shaking, Starscream crawled away from where the tentacles had been. A million sarcastic retorts bubbled on his tongue, but the way the corridor trembled around him stilled his mouth. Then he gave his head a hard shake. No, Unicron couldn't be spooked. There was no possible way...

 _I got him good,_  Starscream mentally patted himself on the back. Better to ignore the problem away than drive himself crazy thinking about it. He knew it was arrogance on his part...and right now he didn't care.  _I got him totally by surprise. That would explain him being so upset--he doesn't like turnabout. Heh, fine, if he wants to be that way..._  he laid back, clutching his chest and trying not to think about what almost happened to his Spark.  _...I'll just wait for him to cool off_.

.o

Five days passed according to Starscream's internal clock. Unicron didn't speak to him at all--not one word. The dark god slept, waking only to provide minimal rations that Starscream supplemented with his own.

Sometimes the corridors shook for hours on end. Lights randomly turned on and off. The tubing in the walls pulsated irregularly...and on occasion stopped altogether, only to start throbbing wildly a few minutes to hours later. Smaller, weaker vessels burst from the strain. More than once Starscream found himself walking ankle deep in shed energon.

Starscream sneered at it all. It was hilarious--a god being a sore loser in a game of his own invention.

Unicron's silence stopped being funny as the seventh day passed. Starscream began to worry about the energon leaks. They healed over, but for every one that healed, two others ruptured.

 _At least I won't starve_...

On the twelfth day, Starscream finally broke his own silence.

"Are you still angry about that recharge overload?"

Nothing.

"...I'm sorry. I--I really thought I was just playing the game. I thought you were challenging me to catch you off-guard. Was I wrong?" He looked up, frowning, "If I somehow injured you--I didn't intend to." Then he let his head hang again and chortled bitterly under his breath. Mistakes like this often warranted a meeting with Megatron. "Is there anything I can do to..." He bit his lower lip--grimacing--oh, he thought he'd choke on his pride with the next words out of his mouth, "...make this up to you?"

Still no response. The wall that heaved behind him didn't count.

The silence ate at him. He convinced himself that it wasn't because he actually  _missed_  spending time around Unicron...

"All right,  _fine_. Sulk, then. I'm sure I'll find a way to amuse myself around here."

He entertained himself for an hour by practicing his swordsmanship in one of the larger corridors. Thrust, whirl, duck, thrust again, he worked out his frustrations on invisible enemies.

... _do I actually feel lonely? No, that's impossible! I'm just bored_.

Starscream continued to wander. He stumbled upon a huge flat screen monitor connected directly to Unicron's ring array, which was a fantastic circle of sensors that saw and heard in all directions. Unicron could spot a fly on Earth from Pluto and hear the cosmic microwave background rumbling around him. The noise was so much like his voice that Starscream wondered if Unicron sampled it for his vocal processors.

The monitor on the wall crackled, snapped and burst until the entire room became a giant screen. Starscream saw as Unicron did--in all directions. Everywhere he looked he saw space.

Unicron flew through Orion's nebula like a ghost, passing a scant light year from the Trapezium. His movements left a curling wake in the gas. It made Starscream's fingers ache to paint again. He fell asleep feeling utterly alone.

When he woke up, he beheld the Milky Way galaxy. A golden-white disc spinning in synch with two smaller galaxies trapped in its gravitational pull. It looked so alone and purposeless.

A day later, Starscream sat up, looked around--and he didn't know where in the Pit Unicron had taken him. He gazed at his surroundings in confusion for over an hour. The stars were ragged, out of focus and arranged in tattered ribbons across the blackness.

The blurry pinpricks, he realized, were galaxies, not stars. They were traveling through intergalactic space!

_How is this possible?_

Then, one morning...or was it night?...Starscream learned the dark god's secret.

Unicron created wormholes. Via some arcane science or magic or  _something_ , he could tear a hole in space and "scrunch" it like a human's soda can. It looked like he sliced a white line in the blackness and suddenly a new section of the cosmos greeted the monitors. It was similar to passing through warp gates, except the distances crossed were beyond Starscream's comprehension.

Where was Unicron heading?

"Hey, Unicron? Not to bother your busy schedule or anything, but...I really hope you know where you're going."  _And,_  Starscream added silently,  _I hope you aren't planning to take me there and dump me off_...

Silence.

Unicron's warps continued. He passed into clusters of younger and younger galaxies--bright, energetic star cities that spewed energy jets millions of miles long and so young that their light hadn't even reached the Milky Way yet. He came within a hundred light years of two galaxies in the middle of a cosmic collision. Spirals, one edge on, the other face on, their beautiful blue arms distorted and breaking as they danced like ghosts in the void. Stars were thrown off into space, each doomed to a lonely existence, and colossal gas clouds were excited to life by the gravity waltz. The smaller galaxy's nucleus was destined to merge with its larger counterpart. In a hundred years, the two glowing essences would be one.

Starscream gasped when the monitor suddenly shut off. The corridor resumed its original shape and went completely dark.

Oh, now things were getting ridiculous! Starscream opened his mouth to protest just as lights on the walls flickered to life, illuminating a path.

**Follow the lights.**

Unicron's first words in a long while. Starscream was relieved to hear his voice again.

"Oh, thank Primus...I was beginning to think you forgot about me."

**I was in deep thought. Now, follow the lights.**

Starscream nodded and let the dim glow guide him forward. He wondered what could possibly take so long to think about, but decided not to ask. If Unicron saw time the way people speculated Primus did--weeks and months were mere  _seconds_.

Pondering how gods viewed time made Starscream's motherboards ache.

"Hey, are you okay, Unicron?"

Silence again.

 _Oh, boy_...

Eventually, Starscream emerged onto Unicron's massive shoulder. The god was so immense that he generated his own gravity, which kept Starscream from drifting off into space.

Unicron plucked Starscream off his shoulder and held him in his palm. Starscream couldn't help but examine their strange surroundings.

All around them were super clusters of galaxies. Millions...no,  _billions_...of galaxies formed delicate bands across the blackness and stretched beyond Starscream's visual range. They looked like the gigantic neurons of some cosmic brain.

Starscream had never seen anything so beautiful. The grand scale of the universe laid out before him. His mind couldn't even comprehend its vastness. Unicron was just a tiny subatomic particle compared it and Starscream even smaller still. And it was all so motionless and far away.

He looked back at Unicron, puzzled. "Where are we?"

Unicron's optics lit up to blind Starscream. After their glow faded, the god was nowhere in sight. Starscream felt arms snake around him from behind. A broad, barrel chest pushed against his jet nozzles until they laid flat against his back. Finally, Unicron whispered into his ear, "The center of the universe."

"Are you...serious?" Starscream focused again on the vista surrounding them, enfolding their bodies in an ethereal glow. "There's nothing here!"

"Of course not. The explosion that created it already happened. That," he gestured at the super clusters, "is what happened when the primordial atomic particles formed hydrogen and helium, which later composed the first huge stars. You could say it snowballed from there and turned into what you see now."

"It's...big..." Starscream mentally kicked himself for stating the obvious. "But impossible. The universe doesn't have a center! All matter was created at once...space was completely filled with incredibly dense superheated gas. The universe expanded as it cooled! So how did--"

"Your curiosity is refreshing. We are in a metaphorical center." Unicron chuckled humorlessly. "Long ago, before the laws of physics were laid down, there were two gods. Light and Dark. They couldn't agree on anything. How long they fought can't be said since time did not exist yet. Their battle raged until they punched a hole in reality. And then...boom," he swept his arm outward. "You know Light, though he doesn't call himself that name anymore. When the universe was created and all the laws of physics established themselves, Light couldn't exist as he once did. His essence went dormant for a few million years, waking when enough heavy elements in the universe let him form himself a body to contain his powers of creation. Even then, those powers were too great, so he split them into tiny baubles. You carry one within you now, Starscream. A gift from Light, whom you know as Primus."

The words resounded like a shockwave against the nothingness.

"Now, don't look at me. I'm not Dark. I was just his servant." Unicron went on, "Dark went on to call himself Primacron. He built me because he got lonely. I was supposed to be just a tool for him, but Primus seemed to take pity on me. Primus had already begun creating your kind. He tricked Primacron into placing one of his Sparks in my chest. I became sentient, but I didn't let Primacron know because, for a time, even I didn't realize I had a will of my own. When he did realize I was conscious, he tried to destroy me--and he almost succeeded. He should have checked to make sure he finished the job, that fool. He left me with billions of years to develop my abilities." Unicron's fingers curled against Starscream's chest. "I don't know what became of him beyond that. He won't like it if I find him again."

Starscream placed his hands over the larger ones resting on his chest. Something behind Unicron's words seethed. An anguish so old it froze rather than burned. Then the hands relaxed. He felt soft lips peck his shoulder and raised an arm to cup the back of Unicron's head. Unicron must have turned himself on with his own hatred. Starscream took Unicron's hand and placed it on his cone. The deft fingers popped his cone open and fondled his sweet spot.

"Mmh, Unicron..." he ground against the electric hand stroking him. Faster and faster until he cried out against the probing mouth waiting to devour his lips. He pulled himself free long enough to turn around and face Unicron for a more proper kiss.

Pent up energy crackled between their bodies. For Starscream, it was a relief to bury himself in Unicron's wires. He wrapped his legs around the Chaos-bringer's waist while Unicron pumped him full of static. It was fun watching Unicron's orgasm pinch his attractive face. Then Starscream wailed and overloaded on the exact point of creation.

When their intakes settled down and aftershocks ceased snapping between them, they disengaged. Unicron reverted to his real body and Starscream sat on his gigantic silver palm, hugging himself.

"Hey, Unicron?"

"Hmm?"

The sound made Starscream's innards rev.

"I'm...sorry about--"

"Shhh, Starscream," Unicron's hand moved, pulling him up to eye level. To Starscream, his optic was a ruddy glass sun setting over a silver horizon, "You made a mistake, but it's all right now. I'm over it."

"So you're not angry anymore?"

Unicron smirked slowly, a fascinating thing to watch. His giant lips were like a metal valley that rearranged itself in slow motion. "No."

Starscream didn't know why, but that knowledge relieved him of his guilt. He hopped up and pressed his mouth to the edge of Unicron's bottom lip. It made the giant's face twitch, and he used a fingertip to nudge Starscream back onto his palm. Either it was irritating or tickled...Unicron gave no indication as to which.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"No real reason...I thought you might find it inspiring."

"Inspiring?"

"We all have a place we run to when we want to hide, Starscream. For some, it's a place within the mind. For me...right here. I come here to escape, to think. The center of the universe centers  _me_." He shrugged one huge shoulder, "I felt like sharing."

Sharing was an understatement. Starscream's optics were taking in a sight no one else within the vast cosmos would ever see. He felt his mind relax and open, letting the view seep into his consciousness. Still, strange as it seemed, the universe looked more beautiful when he gazed at its reflection in Unicron's surprisingly close red optic--

Yes, the reflection. Starscream squared his shoulders and repeated 'it's just the reflection' to himself in his mind, because it certainly wasn't the giant's actual eye that made his intakes miss a few cycles. Nope...he didn't look any deeper than the red glass...he pretended not to notice his own image as Unicron saw it--himself, standing in the center of the glowing vista. He only imagined Unicron gazing back from behind the crimson surface, his giant mechanical eyeball the size of a moon moving to focus on him...

"Starscream?"

Slag it!

"I'm fine!"

Unicron made a grinding noise in his throat, something akin to an amused snort. He turned his head and the strange spell that stole Starscream's cycles broke, letting him breathe again.

Just the reflection...he only missed the reflection...

.o

By tacit accord, Starscream and Unicron agreed not to speak of the long silence that came between them. Things went back to normal...meaning Unicron remained emotionless as ever and Starscream--more relieved to be forgiven than he'd admit--returned to his roots as a cranky Seeker.

Unicron gave him plenty of reasons to be a grump.

"Wake up."

 _And this is one of them_... Starscream grumbled and stirred at the familiar rumble of Unicron's voice. He'd been enjoying a nice, long offline up until that moment. Now, much to his annoyance, he was brought back to the waking world. Couldn't Unicron pull his nonsensical mind games during a less obnoxious hour?

"Sparking again?" he muttered, "Unicron, you're insatiable."

Unicron's response was to bodily pick Starscream up and stand him upright. Starscream experienced a split second of terror, relaxing only when he remembered who those big hands belonged to.

"It's time for you to relive something you've left behind for too long, Starscream."

Curious now, Starscream brought his optics online and found himself standing in a blank, black room. He couldn't find the light source, but somehow he and Unicron were illuminated by something above their heads. His confused gaze went to the dark god. What kind of game was Unicron playing now?

"I'll jog your memory." Unicron said coolly. He held up his hand and an image solidified behind him. A rare ring galaxy spinning on its edge. Its light enveloped Unicron in a golden veil that made his armor gleam. Then it morphed into the gigantic space murals lining the sides of buildings in central Cybertron city, giant maps of the cosmos. Lastly--a painting Starscream did of himself in flight, reaching for the stars--the only piece of art he never completed because he didn't know how. He named it  _Freedom_ before dumping it in a repository.

Unicron's gaze did not falter. "What were you before you joined Megatron's army? Say it."

"I...I was an artist." Starscream turned away, trying hard not to choke up. "That was my youth. It's gone now. It died when I joined Megatron's army--he never liked my having an imagination."

"Of course he hates that, because he can't view the world like you do. Everything he knows, right down to his thinking patterns, were programmed into him before his Spark joined his body. In many ways he is the perfect soldier, but in so many others he is a prisoner." Unicron shifted closer, whispering, his voice purring into Starscream's audio sensor, "You made a choice to become what you are, and that choice allowed Megatron to make you into a prisoner like himself. Even then--Starscream--you have more freedom than he ever will."

Hearing Unicron breathing right in his ear made Starscream's circuits crackle. He felt Unicron take his hand by the wrist and move it forward.

"The air in this room behaves like a holo-canvas. With that in mind, I want to see how you felt when I showed you the point of creation."

It was a command. A hot, sticky order that dripped sensation across his Spark.

Without another thought, Starscream held up both hands and brought light to the vast dark room. How the colors appeared was a mystery to him, but soon he didn't care. Color wicked off his fingers like dew. Unicron moved back, leaving Starscream to stand, poised, emotions swirling through him in volcanic spurts.

Then it all came back to him. Something inside him opened its eyes and stretched out, awakening from a long slumber.

He was a composer and his fingertips his orchestra. Music, the colors he brought forth, became a visual harmony that soon filled the entire area. He forgot the war, his hatred for Megatron and even Unicron's presence. All he knew was the awe he felt hovering in the center of the universe and the youth he just recaptured. He used to dance while he painted--never knew why, it just made things flow better--and he sensed his body remembering the motions. Starscream danced as gracefully as he fought, his moving form a whirlwind of creation. Emotion poured off his fingers in ribbons of color. The sunsets he ignored, the starry vistas he turned away from and the beautiful landscapes on Earth all emerged in the blackness. He hardly saw what his fingers birthed--he'd lost himself in the silken glide of his own internal music.

His fighting skills were born out of his natural grace. Long ago, Megatron saw him in action and was impressed enough to have him programmed for battle. He literally went to sleep and woke up able to fight. Training was too slow for Megatron. Everyone in his army received their abilities through rigorous reprogramming. Usually, bots lost their old skills after gaining the new software, but he was one of the lucky ones. He carried his artistry and dancing into his fighting, always possessing a grace that even Megatron lacked. He made battle look savagely beautiful.

Starscream sighed and smudged the last bit of color into a reproduction of the Andromeda galaxy. Then he stepped back, feeling as if he just woke from a dream. He didn't know how long he worked. His innards trembled against the memories of half-forgotten beauty.

"Oh,  _yes_ ," whispered Unicron, who stood in the center of it all. His face and voice remained stoic. "See, Starscream? Your youth is still alive."

Starscream caught himself smiling like the naïve bot he was before he joined the war. He forced his lips back into a line, but not before Unicron witnessed it.

"Why did you do this?" he asked. Now that he had time to calm down and realize how much of himself Unicron saw, he was embarrassed. Back in the old days, he was incredibly shy. His reprogramming erased most of it, though once in awhile it resurfaced.

That maddening deadpan look again. "Must everything I do be a lesson?"

"You never do anything pointless."

"Who says this is pointless? You're happy.  _That_  is the point."

Starscream clenched his fists and snarled, averting his eyes from the images he created. Unicron grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at them. Each piece came from his Spark, from depths of him even he hadn't probed for millennia.

"This is what you keep buried inside. It is passion.  _Passion_." Unicron's hands snaked around Starscream's waist and settled across his cockpit. A possessive hold. "Megatron has none. He is incredibly jealous of you, Starscream. Why do you think he forced you to give up your art career?"

That pleasant voice chipped at Starscream's resolve. "I--used to draw schematics for ships--and maps of bases I saw during air recon missions..."

"And what happened?"

Bitterness clung like vomit to the back of his tongue, "They were never appreciated. He...he mocked my work in front of me and the entire army."

"That was where it began, Starscream. Everybody else Megatron took into his army turned into good little soldiers, never thinking beyond what he wanted of them. Then he met you--" Unicron punctuated his words with little nibbles across Starscream's shoulders, "you, with a mind of your own. You, who began to question his authority. You, with talents outside of fighting." Then Starscream found himself whirled around, Unicron's face inches from his own, "Your presence has always posed a threat to him. You have what he wants. He can't have that, so he doesn't want you to have it either."

Starscream lifted his hands up and stared at them like they belonged to someone else. Back in those days...before it all...his hands were flawless things that could capture his dreams. Now they were scratched up, aged, nothing like his days of innocence. Still, the piece of him he thought dead now lived again. He saw it glistening in the scratches and seams.

"I was like you once," Unicron said softly. He tilted his lips wistfully, though the emotion never reached his optics. "I can never go back to what I was, but you can. It's not too late for you."

Starscream waited for Unicron to do something, anything. Sigh, look away, let his shoulders sag, just some hint to what went on behind his schooled expression.

Unicron, as always, remained like stone. He could speak of things that would pain a normal person and make it sound utterly trivial. Then he'd turn around and offer the most tender touch--and it never seemed to have any meaning to him.

The dark god moved his head and half his face fell in shadow, shimmers flickering across his sharpest angles. He was a work of art himself. Starscream had an eye for symmetry, and in every sense of the word Unicron was symmetrically perfect, like someone built his left side and then simply placed a mirror on his right. He was  _stunning_. Especially in the dramatic lighting surrounding them both.

Of course, Megatron was aesthetically pleasing, too. But Unicron...his beauty proved more an acquired taste because of its sheer unusualness. He'd be gorgeous if he just smiled. Even with his artistic imagination, Starscream couldn't imagine Unicron smiling.

What if Unicron couldn't feel anymore? What if...

Starscream drew back, biting his lower lip.

_...what if I am the closest thing he has to feeling anything?_

Just as quickly as the thought rose, he cast it aside. Unicron was an enigma, a convoluted labyrinth of wires, thought, silence and mystery. Looking at him made Starscream ache in ways he never ached before. He dismissed it as an over-clocked fuel pump and nothing more. Surely he didn't  _feel_  anything towards Unicron. Slag it, he wasn't sure he even understood the gigantic mech--a being who offered him beauty, the best sex he ever had...and all the while his face and eyes revealed nothing of himself. Starscream could only remember seeing emotion once from Unicron, and that was the anger after sleep-overloading him.

Suddenly, Unicron popped up in his mind.

**I am more simple than you think, Starscream. Stop thinking so hard.**

"Hey! I thought I told you to stop reading my mind."

A soft chuckle, dry and without real humor. "I don't have to try. You think so loud it beats across my head."

Starscream thought of the most vulgar word for sex he could think of. Next thing he knew, Unicron was upon him, lips and tongue probing his mouth. Hands ran across his wings, heating him up. It was amazing how the Chaos-bringer could go from cold to insatiably aroused within seconds. He let Unicron guide him down onto his hands and knees. Before he could question this odd position, he felt familiar abs press against his aft. Fingers probed his backside until, suddenly, his exhaust port was flipped open. Unicron made an approving noise.

"You clean your vent regularly. Good."

"Of course I clean it! I don't want to walk around smelling like exhaust. What's so interesting about it anyway? Don't you have your own to fondle?"

"Yes, but yours is easier to reach."

And, with that, Unicron let his access port slide out and into the vent.

Starscream's mouth formed a round "O" shape. He experienced sensations that usually meant he had gas to expel. Unicron did a lot of weird things that ended up feeling great, but this was the weirdest yet. Starscream, now curious to where this might lead, decided he'd tolerate the invasion on his equivalent of an anus. At least for now.

Dexterous hands cupped Starscream's cockpit. Unicron dripped velvet words into his audio sensors, "Let's try it this way."

"Fine...but this stops if I don't like it."

"Don't worry." Those wonderful hands caressed his wings again, creating a delicious tingling around his Spark.

Starscream bit his bottom lip. He'd come to learn that Unicron would never harm him unless he gave him a good reason to. Was this how it felt to trust someone?

Unicron's first pulse was harsh. Starscream wailed in almost-pain, trying to arch away, but Unicron's body prevented him from sitting up.

"Shh, Starscream," Unicron whispered, "It will pass."

"Y-you're burning my aft! Oh...sh-shit!" Starscream's body treated the object in his vent as an obstruction. A piston in the back of the port started pushing against Unicron's extended panel. Unicron thrust his hips forward and forced the piston backwards. In and out, a grinding thrust that scraped against sensory nodes Starscream never knew he had. Agonizing initially--like fire mixed into pins and needles. He clenched his teeth, waiting,  _trusting_.

Sure enough, the burning died to a pleasant tingling. Then Unicron sent static and vibrations into the vent and... _ohh_...fireworks danced through Starscream's vision. He grunted and dug his aft into Unicron's belly. Each pulse came in irregular intervals that kept him guessing and wreaked the most wonderful havoc on his sensory system. He stretched his hands out in front of him like a feline, which caused his back end to rise. His exhaust wiring sent shocks into Unicron's port. Unicron arched forward with a soft snarl. Starscream grinned and hooked his knees around Unicron's legs. Then he simply sat up, pushing Unicron onto his back so he straddled him backwards. The piston in his aft made him rise and fall without having to move himself. A huge electrical surge curled through his body and wrenched a moan from his vocal processor.

"Yes," grunted the dark god.

Starscream leaned back and grabbed Unicron's hands. He didn't know what compelled him to do so, but he clutched them possessively. Each time Starscream released a pulse, he felt those hands tighten, and his own fingers squeezed in reply. He wished he could see Unicron's face.

"How does it feel?" whispered Unicron.

"Weird," grunted Starscream, "Not bad...I--kind of like it..." he was surprised to feel the familiar overload tingle building in his exhaust port. The slow pace of his internal piston drove him insane with lust. He hung on the edge forever as wave after sensational wave trickled up his body. An orgasm in extreme slow motion. His innards revved in anticipation, every atom in his being straining to reach a few seconds into the future and grab the inevitable.

And then, just as it peaked, Starscream felt a wing digit slide into his cone. His orgasm exploded so hard that he cried lightning until his vision went white. Unicron's hands tightened their grip. Between his shrieks, he thought he heard low moaning, but he couldn't be sure through all the noise he made.

Starscream off-lined. He didn't know for how long. He regained consciousness to the sight of Unicron sitting up with his knees to his chest, his red optics gazing at the artwork still hovering around them. Starscream let his dazed eyes wander to his left hand. It was clasped in Unicron's, their fingers interlocked. Had Unicron been holding his hand this way the whole time?

They never held hands before. Sure, Unicron took Starscream's hand to guide it towards a more pleasurable area...but they never did it this way.

The ache Starscream tried to ignore came back. He ran a self diagnostic on his gas pump and found it in perfect order. His other systems also passed as functional. So why did he feel this way?

"Welcome back," Unicron said without looking at him. Of course he'd know when Starscream woke up, he was aware of everything.

"Thanks...I think."

"Your work is magnificent, Starscream. It--pleases me." The barest wisp of emotion leaked into Unicron's voice. Everything else he talked about could be thrown away. But these words...they meant something. They were jewels he'd share with no one else.

Starscream sat up without separating their hands. Unicron said he was pleased, but his face remained impassive. His head moved slowly as his eyes scanned each piece.

"What's the big deal? It's just pictures of space and Earth."

"Yes," Unicron replied. "Pictures of space and Earth as  _you_ see them. Through your optics and nobody else's.  _That_  is what makes it magnificent, Starscream. Your view of everything. I can look at each image and know exactly how you felt creating it."

Never had anyone paid Starscream such a compliment to his work. Though, Unicron was the only person who ever understood his works. They weren't all about looking nice, they were feelings. Emotions were threaded into every finger-stroke of color.

Starscream felt like crying, which annoyed him. He hated being so sensitive and he hated that he couldn't hide it from Unicron.

"I am capable of many things. But this," Unicron gestured towards Starscream's work, "is beyond my ability. Which makes me wonder..." and he turned, slowly, until their optics met, "how do you see me?"

Discomfort etched itself into Starscream's features. "Well--"

A finger touched his lips. "Show, don't tell."

The back of Starscream's throat felt sticky again. He'd been commissioned for portraits before--even once by Megatron, which was what lead to him joining his army--so it wasn't like he never painted people before. He just found it difficult to think with Unicron sitting right there, looking at him expectantly.

"I think..." Starscream grasped Unicron's metal goatee and turned his head so his face fell half in shadow. "...Okay, stay like that."

Of course, getting up meant releasing his hand. He did so reluctantly.

Unicron placed his hands on his drawn up knees. His wing array lay draped around his legs. He looked suddenly small to Starscream. Not fragile--Unicron could never be fragile--just small.

Starscream's Spark ached. He raised his hands like he did before and brought life to that feeling. A face like stone with dramatic red optics. The rest of his body came easily after that. He made the shadows deeper than they actually were because, to him, Unicron was still mysterious. Details were last--highlights, seams and shading between panels. In some ways it felt like caressing Unicron's body. Starscream's face warmed at the thought.

Finally, he stepped back. The painting looked real enough to stand up and walk away.

Unicron approached and inspected his portrait. Scrutinized it, his optics squinting and relaxing. He tightened his lips slightly, turning now to regard Starscream.

"Am I truly this perfect in your eyes?"

Starscream relaxed without realizing he'd been tense. "I take it you like it?"

The question went by, ignored.

"Is this what you see when you look at me?"

Starscream growled, "This  _is what I see_ , Unicron. You said so yourself that no one sees the universe like I do. You're still a mystery to me, so you look mysterious and so..." he trailed off when he realized the words he'd chosen too late. No sense stopping now. He finished his thought in a whisper, "...beautiful."

Something about Unicron had been off since he walked closer. Something about the tension in his lips and how his optics narrowed. Starscream stared until he finally figured it out.

Unicron was trembling. Barely, imperceptibly, Starscream only saw it because of how the light flickered on his golden armor. He had to be feeling something, but what? Did this image somehow upset him?

"Unicron, what do  _you_  see when you picture yourself?"

Unicron's reply came in silence. He extended an index finger and smudged a long scar right down the middle of the image's body. Then he stood there, looking at the smeared colors clinging to his fingertip.

"I'm glad one of us thinks I'm perfect." the Chaos-bringer said dryly. He stopped trembling as his composure returned. "But, if I had the same skills, I'd likely create a similar image--so it all evens out."

He didn't give Starscream a chance to ask questions. With a wave of his hand, the entire room faded like a dream and Starscream found himself sitting in the corridor where he settled down to sleep earlier. The wall opened and a platter of energon cubes with an oil truffle on top slid out.

Starscream ate the offered food--saving the truffle for last--while he stared ahead, confused.  _Why does Unicron see himself as ugly and scarred? It makes no sense! Usually, he comes at me like he thinks he's the hottest bot under the stars--and he sort of is...GAH! I just don't get it!_

**Don't ponder it, Starscream. I will let you rest now.**

And to make his point, Unicron shut off all the lights in the corridor. Starscream had no choice but to lie down and cast his thoughts to the darkness.

**By the way...I appreciate the compliment.**

_GAAAAAH! Get out of my head!_

.o

Time slipped past Starscream like raindrops gliding effortlessly over glass. Unicron made him forget about the war and the world that existed outside his own body. They spent ages in the fantasies Unicron created, having sex in various positions just for the fun of it.

Sometimes the Chaos-bringer gave his "lessons." Sometimes they just laid around, barely touching. Sometimes they had slow sex. Sometimes they ravished each other like starving animals. One time, they laid chest to chest and maintained eye contact for a solid hour--and then Unicron fell asleep, which struck Starscream as funny until he got drowsy too. For the first time in his life he slept in someone else's arms.

Once, Starscream discovered that licking the spaces between Unicron's wing array digits could drive the dark god into overload. In turn, Unicron made Starscream realize how mind-numbingly good it felt to have someone suck on his wingtips.

Starscream drifted from overload to overload, through fogs of energon intoxication and across the deep ocean of Unicron's voice without even caring about where he was in the universe. He felt no stress, no tension, no worry, and the shadows of Death didn't loiter around every corner. Life had become a stream of starry vistas, his hands creating art, mind-numbing orgasms and restful sleep.

He began to  _need_  Unicron like he needed energon. Strange things happened to his Spark when he met the god's red optics, something between joy and pain. His own pleasure wasn't enough, he had to see Unicron feel it too. Watching the larger bot overload made him  _happy_. Waking up to Unicron's fantasies sent bursts of  _joy_  throbbing through his Spark chamber. All Unicron had to do was look at him and everything else disappeared.

Then Starscream found himself holding Unicron's hands or wrapping his arms around him when they linked up--then their optics would meet and the calm it created within the frenzied moments brought forth a new sense of satisfaction. Unicron never expressed anything other than arousal, but Starscream wondered if his reluctance to pull away immediately after uplinking meant he felt something too. He missed Unicron more and more during those quiet recharge hours where he had nothing to stare at except the strange, rocky walls.

When in the Pit did  _that_  start happening?

Starscream didn't understand the changes happening in his emotions. It was something he never felt before and didn't know how to describe.

And it  _scared_  him.


	4. 4

A snarl and violent shaking jerked Starscream out of a sound sleep. Unicron had been recharging as well...at least up until that point. Starscream watched Unicron's internal lights blaze at full power and heard the electric buzz of his weapons systems going online. Unicron stayed on high alert for at least two full minutes.

"Unicron?"

Everything gradually relaxed. The weapons retracted and the lights dimmed to a less painful level.

Starscream rolled to his feet and glared impatiently at the wall. "Hey, Unicron! What gives?"

No answer, naturally, because Unicron liked to reply in his own time when they weren't face to face. Starscream waited, trying to tell himself that he asked out of curiosity and not actual  _concern_...and he thoroughly convinced himself that he wasn't actually  _relieved_  when Unicron drew him into one of his many constructed realities.

They were on a white miles-high cliff this time. It overlooked a vast gray cloudscape. A yellow-white galaxy's hub rose in the starry blackness like a fuzzy sun on the horizon. Starscream recognized this image. It was one of the space vistas he painted, born purely from his own imagination.

Unicron stood on the cliff's edge with his back to Starscream, the picture of serenity. The shadow his legs alone cast looked like two dark pillars, and his wing array created jagged patterns across Starscream's jet wings.

"Unicron?"

The other mech glanced over his shoulder, a slow, deliberate motion that flowed from his head to his throat. A haunted look shimmered in his ruby optics. Then his shadow vanished. Starscream could only stare at the space Unicron just vacated. It took his mind a few nanoseconds to realize why.  _He...jumped_...

Reality scrambled for purchase in Starscream's processors.

"What the HELL?" he shrieked, " _Unicron!_ "

Without thinking he dove over the cliff and tried not to notice the miles between himself and the rocky ground that surely existed somewhere far below. Unicron hadn't fallen too far yet. He looked up, his face so utterly blank that it opened a blazing hole in Starscream's anger. Starscream fired his boosters and dove like a falcon until he swooped past his golden companion. This catch would be painful, but there was no way around it.

"TRANSFORM!" he cried as he shifted into his jet form and braced himself. Unicron's full weight slammed into his hull, cracking his cockpit and causing him to rock violently in the air. The impact rang across the desolation. Starscream strained his engines to stay airborne. He struggled while Unicron just laid there across his body, motionless.

"Oh, P-Primus," Starscream whimpered. His engines gave out and he started to plummet. He heard himself screaming uncontrollably.

Suddenly, Unicron snapped his fingers and they were back on the cliff again as if nothing happened.

"You can stop screaming now." He said.

Starscream reverted to bot mode and took several measured steps out of Unicron's shadow. He balled his hands into fists. His wings, his engines and his cracked cockpit ached with the stress placed upon them. And for what? To give Unicron a free ride?

"W-what the  _hell_  was that all about?" he snarled.

Unicron turned to face him, outlined by the rising galaxy in the background. The glare of the light hid all but his dimly glowing optics. "And  _why_  did you go to all the trouble to catch me?"

The question almost derailed Starscream. "That's not the point! You almost smashed yourself to pieces!"

The Chaos bringer lifted his head slightly, looking down his nose. At the same time, he smirked, and something flickered across his red optics. "This is all an illusion. I can't be hurt here. Yet you acted to save me." He looked out across the clouds, "My fall was a question and your response was the answer I predicted."

"You...tricked me..." Burning pokers ignited in Starscream's belly. He thrust an accusing finger in Unicron's face and shouted through clenched teeth, "...how dare you toy with me like this! I should cut you to pieces!"

"I wasn't toying," came the cool reply.

"Yes, you were!"

"No, Starscream." Unicron's voice actually rose just slightly off its usual monotone. A slight rise and fall in pitch, like a verbal shrug. Just enough that Starscream's hand halted without grasping his wing blade. "I have the answer I was...hoping...for."

"I'm getting tired of your mind-games!" growled Starscream. Pride wouldn't let him tell Unicron how scared he was. Unicron proved himself to be many things...and suicidal didn't fit in his description.

"Falling...it's such an interesting sensation," whispered the dark god. He held a hand out to Starscream, "Come, experience it with me."

"Are you--" Starscream stared at Unicron the way someone might stare at a circus freak, "--are you out of your  _mind_?"

"Starscream, there is no ground below. You never painted one."

"B-but--"

Unicron came closer, whispering in his audio sensor, "You have a phobia of falling. It's natural for one who flies to fear falling. You fear the pain of hitting the ground. What if there  _is_  no ground?"

"I'd rather face Megatron than fall," muttered Starscream.

"Tch!"

Before Starscream could think, he felt Unicron grab his arm. His world became wind roaring by and the cliff top shrank away against the sky. He tried to fire his engines, but somehow Unicron disabled them so they wouldn't ignite. Blind terror clouded his eyesight and threw his circuits into chaos. He turned and wrapped himself around Unicron, literally cowering. Tears welled in his optics and blew across his face like raindrops blown backwards across a windshield.

 _Make it stop...make it stop...makeitstopmakeitstop_...

 **No. Your fear is irrational.**  Unicron turned so they fell upside down,  **Look.**

With no choice, Starscream lifted his head off the other mech's chest. He saw the rock wall passing in a silver blur. Their bodies cast shadows on clouds just before they passed through them. Still, his mind couldn't shake the unrealistic fear that those clouds hid a hard, jagged, rocky ground that would smash him to a pulp. Yet, no matter how far they fell, clouds were the only thing below them. Logic finally kicked in and Starscream wanted to kick himself. He was attached to Unicron with all four limbs. Why would Unicron leave a nasty bit of land waiting if it meant he'd take the brunt of the impact?

The slow realization brought Starscream's intake cycles under control. The impact warnings--all in his mind, he realized--stopped flashing. His vision, which had zoomed to watch for the ground, relaxed.

**Good...you're rationalizing. Now, Starscream, is falling really that much different from flying?**

Falling was more effortless than flying. It didn't require focusing on engines and defying gravity.

Starscream opened himself to the wind blasting over his face, body and wings. He was built for this. The air moved over, around and across him, sensual, real, warm and cold at the same time. His legs relaxed as he pushed himself a scant foot off Unicron to let the air vibrate his chest.

Of course, Unicron executed a back flip that sent Starscream scrambling back into a choke hold.

"Don't do that!"

"What?" he repeated the motion, "This?"

"ARGH! You're scrambling my equilibrium chips!"

A humorless chuckle, "Good."

"I hate you."

"Oh, he hates me. I'll go cry a river."

Starscream pondered how much pressure it would take to slam Unicron's head down the length of his body and out through his aft. "Stop mocking me!"

Unicron nipped the end of Starscream's nose. "You are so high strung."

"I feel like I'm going to vomit."

"You won't."

Starscream felt wind on his chest and realized that during the whole time they argued, Unicron was inching him away from his body. It felt like someone ripped the bottom out of his fuel tank. He clung to Unicron's hands as if his life depended on it, shrieking, "Don't let go!"

Unicron looked him square in the eyes. "Starscream, trust me. You will be all right. Just treat the air like it's a head-wind in flight. Imagine the rock wall is the ground rushing by."

A new level of fear hit Starscream when one hand let go. He grimaced, trembling, that sick, heavy, cold feeling in his stomach threatening to swallow him whole. "I'm--still falling..."

Unicron's arm extended, pushing Starscream even further away. Now all that stood between him and a death that must await below was the hand clasping his. Dragging air into his intakes, he tried to fool himself into thinking he was flying. Seeing his shadow on the rocky wall helped.

Then Unicron loosened his grip. Starscream clung tighter. He felt bitter tears being wicked away from his face.

"Starscream."

He looked over.

"I'm not asking you to be fearless. I'm just asking you to face it. Getting over a fear means becoming bigger than the cause of your fear is. It isn't the falling itself you're afraid of, it's the impact--the pain."

Shaking his head, Starscream covered his optics, "I can't--"

"Yes, you  _can_." Unicron said, his voice suddenly gentle. "Hold on to me as long as you feel the need."

Then he relaxed his hand completely.

Starscream almost up-chucked everything in his fuel tank. The illogical part of his mind kept imagining he'd plummet even faster if he let go. His rational mind argued back that they were already falling at the same velocity and releasing his grip would cause a minimal change at best.

The wind howled around them. Ever since he first took flight, Starscream called the wind his friend. Once upon a time the wind gave him freedom--it carried his wings, he played in it and he danced in its grasp. He let his hand slip until the only things between him and oblivion were Unicron's fingertips.  _Oh, mighty wind, will you be my friend again?_

Only one way to find out.

Starscream let go. He uncovered his eyes to find no ground rushing up to greet him. There was just...air...the wind hadn't abandoned him.

Now all this terror he felt seemed silly.

"I'm doing it," Starscream whispered. He executed a graceful helix twist and gazed over at his companion. Though he still felt a little scared, he wasn't crippled by it.

"You're over your fear," Unicron said coolly. "I knew you could do this, and it pleases me."

The compliment made his face feel warm.

"It wasn't easy," he admitted.

"Of course not. Sometimes, Starscream, it's not the destination that matters...it's the journey itself. Think of Megatron--him and his craving for war. The war will end eventually. What will he do then?"

"Get bored, I guess. But sometimes when you finish one journey, you just pack up and start another one. No rule in the universe says you have to stay put all the time."

"Interesting answer."

Starscream stared at Unicron. He stared and stared until he burst out laughing at the whole situation. They were falling headfirst through clouds and Unicron talked to him like he did it every day. And it struck Starscream as hilarious.

Unicron looked dangerously close to cracking a smile, but it never grew beyond a stiffness in his lips. Starscream imagined a smile breaking Unicron's face in half.

"Starscream, you have a sick mind."

"I can't help it!" Starscream laughed even harder. Primus, he couldn't remember the last time he had a laugh this good. He calmed down when he felt Unicron drift closer.

"You said you'd rather face Megatron than fall. But you're falling, and you aren't terrified anymore. You'll face Megatron in the future knowing this. How does that make you feel?"

Instead of answering, Starscream smiled and continued to fall unrestrained with his arms outstretched. He flipped and spun like a rookie showoff, whooping in delight at how gloriously  **free**  he felt now that fear didn't hold him back. His best friend, the wind, never abandoned him. He was the one who ran away...but the wind forgave him. It showed its forgiveness by returning the freedom he thought he lost.

Then he found himself lost in the Chaos bringer's ruby optics. Reflections of the clouds danced across them, giving the illusion of emotion. He moved closer to Unicron, took his face in his hands and kissed him. A soft kiss without using his tongue or teeth. Once again, he gazed at him. Unicron's eyes had a new depth to them as bottomless as the illusion through which they fell. How they could be so transparent and still remain mysterious puzzled him. He just knew they caused his Spark to do strange things.

The sensation had been going on for awhile...but never had the Seeker been more conscious of it than now.

Starscream touched their lips together again and tasted the wind on Unicron's mouth. He was falling, and not just through the air...but he tried not to think of that  _other_ drop. Yet the more he tried to pretend it away, the faster he found himself falling into the dark god's eyes.

.o

Another day, Unicron brought Starscream back into the blank, black room. Starscream praised all holy things that the dark god chose a more suitable hour this time--he _hated_  interruptions in his beauty sleep.

He sauntered up to his golden companion, "So, what are you teaching me this time?"

Unicron faced him, shadowed in the mysterious way that made Starscream's intakes hitch. The Seeker grew slightly jealous of the light clinging to Unicron's sharpest edges.

"I'm reversing our roles this time. You are the teacher today."

Starscream felt his left optic ridge arch up. Was this going where he thought it was going?

"I want to learn..." Unicron indicated the holograms in the distance. They were still there, floating in the darkness. "...that."

On occasion, Starscream hated being right. "Uh...everybody has their own style. All I'd be able to teach you is how to holo-paint the same pictures I do, and I--I kind of have my own style."

"It isn't the images that pique my curiosity." He came closer, gently invading Starscream's personal space without being obtrusive. "What goes on within you that allows you to create?"

 _Oh_. Starscream's annoyed sneer relaxed as if smoothed by Unicron's curiosity. Inwardly, he relished the opportunity to share his old hobby with someone else. Niggling apprehension tapped at his fuel tank when he pondered how to explain where his artistry came from. What if his creation process didn't satisfy Unicron? What if he failed to explain it properly?

Then again--having this seemingly unflappable creature ask this of him was almost too surreal.

"It's music," Starscream began, trying to fit words around something beyond description. "It's music that you can't hear because your emotions are the instruments. You...feel it...and the sound is what you see. One line is a single note, two create harmony. The more lines, the more complex the song becomes. Uhhh..." he rubbed the back of his head, sheepish, afraid to even look at Unicron, "Am I making sense?"

"You have never been clearer than you are now, Starscream," said Unicron, his voice rumbling quietly in the darkness. He held his hand out, "Show me. Guide me."

Starscream stared at the hand in complete shock. Unicron was so aloof and art required emotion...how could he ever hope to create anything remotely artistic? He backpedaled in his mind. Showing Unicron something like this could prove insightful. Maybe he'd see deeper into him and glimpse what he kept hidden behind his stoic demeanor.

"Well, all right. Stick out your pointer finger." When Unicron did so, Starscream moved beside him, cupped the top and bottom of his hand and guided it into the reactive gas. Then he moved it repeatedly up and down in a swishing motion. "It's rhythm, Unicron. Every feeling has one. I'm going to stop moving you--I can't choose the rhythm for you. You have to decide on that yourself."

Unicron said nothing after their hands became still. For the longest time he remained poised. When he did finally move, it was sudden, a harsh, straight, vertical line that slashed the air and painted a brilliant red line in the blackness. He paused to glance at the color still clinging to his fingertip.

"Interesting."

Starscream let go of his hand. "Keep going."

"Hm."

Unicron repeated the motion that tore through the first line. Something in his optics flickered like a flame barely under control. He moved only his arm. Up, down, sideways, diagonal, a mish-mash of burning wounds that developed into a jagged abstract pattern. There were no curves anywhere. Unicron's top lip almost disappeared, pressed tight to his pouty bottom one.

"This doesn't feel natural," Unicron remarked off-handedly.

Starscream chuckled...was it the awkwardness of the moment or Unicron's careless movements that brought about his nervous laughter?

"It--has to flow out of your body. Move with it. If you're painting a harsh line--"

" _Ah_ ," Unicron raked his hand left to right, shifting his weight with the motion. His whole body moved like liquid through light and shadow, and Starscream felt his Spark skip a beat. He watched Unicron in awed silence. Watching how he surrounded himself in sharp red stripes. He did not dance like Starscream did--he more or less stayed in the same place--but the movements flowed from his feet to his outstretched hand. His optics narrowed, glistening on the edge of revealing something. Whatever it was sank before it fully surfaced.

Then Unicron stepped back to regard his work. The abstract, sketchy rendition of a ruined building floated eerily in the gaseous air. He made a fist and the picture disappeared in a gray puff.

"Why did you destroy your work?" Starscream reached out in a vain hope to recapture the erased image, but it was gone. "It was interesting."

"Because I'm no artist, not like you," Unicron turned, his optics smoldering, "However, I now understand the process that allows you to create. It's liberating." He stepped through the gas and leaned down, bringing them face to face. "Let's change the rules a bit."

Unicron reached out and left a shimmering purple hand print on Starscream's cockpit. Purple...the color of passion and desire...and one of Starscream's favorites.

"...hey!"

The Chaos-bringer smirked. Starscream didn't need to read minds to see his companion daring him to retaliate. He slapped Unicron's arm and splattered a blue streak from his shoulder to his elbow.

"Hm." Unicron stretched out both hands. Starscream felt cool thumbs painting marks from below his eyes all the way to his chin. Then Unicron waved a hand and part of the floor rose up, liquid, showing Starscream his reflection. Starscream gasped upon seeing Unicron's black stripes on his face. It looked so strange--beautiful--but strange. It got even weirder the moment Unicron's image literally transformed. Starscream's optics widened and he whipped around to look.

"This is just a metaphor," Unicron answered the unspoken questions before they rose. He slid fully into view. Horrible scars covered his form. It looked like somebody took an energy weapon to his eyes. His optics were shattered, leaving just a few scant shards of red glass, and cracks turned his previously smooth cheeks into a multifaceted nightmare. Jagged scratches like the lines he painted earlier criss-crossed his black and golden body. Parts of his wing array were broken off, exposing the circuitry underneath.

Tears sprang from Starscream's eyes. He'd seen wounds like that before--on  _dead_  bots. "Oh...P-Primus..." He stretched forth a hand to caress one of the scars on Unicron's chest in a vain attempt to sooth it. Every harsh edge grated across his Spark.

"Am I still beautiful to you like this?"

The Seeker's breath hitched. To see a being he considered beautiful look so broken tore at his mind. He didn't want to look at him, yet at the same time he refused to turn his gaze away. The ruby shards still clinging to Unicron's empty optic sockets glistened eerily. Starscream stepped closer and Unicron followed his movement. Somehow, despite having nothing to take in visual information, he could still see.

Unicron asked, "What if I looked like this, Starscream?"

"I won't lie. I'd be startled...and horrified."

"That is a natural reaction to something ugly. Regardless of species,  _ugly_  beings are always judged as disgusting monsters," Unicron said, a mild edge in his deep voice.

"Actions can be uglier, Unicron."

"Yes. Now suppose all of this..." he gestured to himself, "represents my sins."

Starscream traced the bedraggled scars, his Spark and throat aching. For once, he couldn't find anything sarcastic to say about the situation. Unicron had him backed into an emotional corner and the rude escape route wasn't one he wanted to take. He gulped and decided on the truth, "We--we all have scars in some form or another. We all make mistakes, we all do things we aren't proud of. Why should you be any different?"

"You keep me on a pedestal. This is what I look like after I've fall--"

"Enough with the metaphoric crap!" Starscream snapped, his patience wearing thin. He bit his lower lip and brushed his thumb across the ragged space under Unicron's left optic socket, wiping away an imaginary tear. The next words leapt off his glossa before he realized what he was saying, "I don't  _care_  if you aren't perfect.  _Nobody_  is! Slag it, if someone told me to choose between having you like this or going back to Megatron--who is gorgeous--I'd stay with you. Now shut up with all this! You're making my logic circuits ache."

Unicron's optics--what remained of them--trembled. He lunged and kissed Starscream hard, bringing a surprised squeak from his vocal processor. Starscream arched when large hands screeched across his chassis. Color splashed onto his red hull, painting it shades of blue. Starscream drew back and discovered he just left deep crimson in the scars marring Unicron's face. He leaned up and kissed the horrible wounds, finding beauty in their symmetry.

Time stood still. Starscream's intakes deepened. Unicron's body heated up. They stared at each other, frozen, as the barrier between god and mortal grew almost too thin to stand between them.

A beat passed and the next moment was a hot, maddening uplink. Colors wicked off their fingers as they clawed desperately at one another. In a moment the ugly scars marring Unicron glowed varying shades of arterial red. Starscream watched Unicron create color with his  _lips_ , trailing a white streak as he traced a line from Starscream's brow to his mouth.

Starscream glanced down at himself. It aroused him to see the crimson marks he left all over Unicron, but the sight of Unicron's hand prints on his body made his orange optics well over. Fiery orange stripes told him where Unicron's wing array stroked his chassis. White traced every kiss and blue followed each caress. He'd been scarred with the dark god's passion. With every movement Unicron dripped blue on his body--he was painting, and Starscream was his holo-canvas. The realization shoved him over the edge.

"Uni _cron_...oh--OHHHH!" Starscream overloaded hard, clawing, aching, crimson spheres gushing off his fingers and splattering all over Unicron's back. Unicron's full weight pressed him against the ground. Starscream felt Unicron's cheek tremble as he spilled a hot coat of midnight blue on his cockpit. His quaking hands moved, clasping around Starscream's. The red and blue smeared on their bodies slowly turned purple. They were so thickly covered in holographic paint that Starscream couldn't tell where he ended and Unicron began. He smiled, turning his head to nuzzle his lips against Unicron's throat.

Unicron shifted his body and spoke into Starscream's audio sensor, his voice soft, "Thank you."

 _O--kay, he's thanking me_ , Starscream raised an optic ridge.

Then Unicron lifted his head and his features melted back to normal. Once again his unimpeachable red optics and smooth, liquid metal skin grazed Starscream's view. He pulled Starscream to his feet. Purple fell away from them like the shell of a chrysalis.

"Look at what we created."

"Huh?" Turning, Starscream beheld a solid purple hologram of himself and Unicron, both entangled in the height of sexual overload. There was something haunting about Unicron's scarred face--he had his mouth open and his fangs bared. Without optics, it was almost impossible to tell what else lied within the obvious pleasure pulling at Unicron's lips. It drove Starscream insane. Every time he came close to seeing an emotion, something pulled it beyond perception.

Reality swam and Starscream would have sank to his knees had Unicron not been holding him. The dark god shot him a mild glare.

"Your energy levels are low. It's a miracle you are even online...when did you last consume energon?"

"Forty eight hours ago," Starscream replied, too tired to make excuses. "Look, my fuel tank has been causing me strange sensations. I wanted it to empty so I could run a clearer diagnostic and--"

He fell into shocked silence when red lasers shot from Unicron's eyes and scanned up and down his chassis. "There is nothing wrong with your fuel tank. No surface anomalies, the pumps are functioning and the inlet valves are intact."

Starscream wavered on the edge of off-lining. He'd never let himself run this low on energon before--his whole body seemed to weigh ten times more than it did a minute ago. The intense overload he had must have drained what little reserves he had left.

"You silly fool," Unicron muttered. He gestured and the room containing his "heart" flickered into being. "You are going to be over energized into stasis after this, but you need to tank up."

Starscream felt Unicron set him down next to the large energon pool in the center of the room. Part of the floor next to it morphed into a square dipper. Unicron dipped it into the glowing violet liquid and raised it to Starscream's parted lips.

"Where does this energon come from?"

"It's part of my digestive process. My body is a giant mining station--I eat a planet, digest it and convert it into energon that sustains me. How much I get depends on the planet. Rocky worlds are best...but I'd rather not go into the details." With that, Unicron tipped the dipper and poured the energon down Starscream's throat. "This...is my blood."

Starscream laughed. On Earth, there was a religion where humans blessed and drank covenantal wine and called it the blood of their One God. Now, here he was, doing something so remarkably similar. He opened his mouth and gulped the phosphorescent liquid.

He expected the energon to burn--energon this pure  _had_  to be flavored or else it was too painful to consume. So it came as a surprise when oily sweetness rolled across his tongue. It tasted good enough that he no longer cared how silly he looked lying in Unicron's arms, being practically spoon-fed. Intoxication set in by the third dipper-full...and his memory failed after the fourth. As he drifted into stasis, Starscream swore he felt Unicron press a kiss into his brow.

Twelve hours passed. Starscream woke up alone and remembered everything he said to Unicron about his scars. He didn't realize how much he meant it until he had time to think about the whole situation.

 _I said I'd rather have him scarred than not at all_... and he jerked to his feet as if burned. Dizziness made the room spin. He squelched the next thought before it had a chance to materialize.

"Dammit!" Starscream stomped his foot and staggered away in search of an output station. Maybe a leak and a long walk would clear his head. He needed to get rid of the silly notion that he'd actually developed feelings for Unicron.

.o

"Are you serious?"

Unicron glanced over. They were standing next to Starscream's newest holo-paintings. This one depicted a pine forest under a cloudy sky.

Starscream remained incredulous. "You're billions of years old and you're telling me you've never experienced rain?"

"It has never been necessary. And you are straying from your lesson--"

"Make this image real."

"Starscream..."

"Unicron, you're the one that showed me what I've been ignoring for so long. Now why should I keep it to myself?"

Unicron's expression remained stone. "It's just water falling from the sky. What is so fascinating about that?"

Starscream frowned and bit back the urge to curse. Did Unicron get off on being hypocritical? He tugged on the god's hand while trying not to sound annoyed, "Come on. It's--something you just have to experience."

Not a sound uttered from Unicron's lips. He stuck his finger into the painting and it stretched until they stood in its midst. The smell of wet air and pine surrounded them. Many trees were taller than they were, cloaking them in a ceiling of gray and green.

"No rain," said Unicron simply.

But Starscream could smell it. He saw the blur on the horizon indicating its approach. "Here it comes."

It started as a pattering noise and then, suddenly, the first drops sprinkled across Unicron's shoulder. Not a second later, another bounced off his nose. The dark god looked up with veiled wonder in his red optics and the clouds opened up completely.

Starscream watched the water bead on Unicron's golden armor and form rivulets on his horns and wing array. Unicron spread his array, leaned slightly back and extended his hands. Then his lips parted as he licked the droplets off his mouth, tasting the sky's offering--and for the first time since Starscream met him he looked genuinely peaceful.

"Isn't rain great?" the Seeker grinned. He loved how rain amplified the biting smell of pine. Small rivers trickled down his cockpit and wings, tickling delightful shivers out of him. Standing in rain was like having thousands of fingers caress him at once. It cleaned away the dust and dirt he couldn't reach on his own.

In reply, Unicron sank slowly to his knees in the mud and stared down at the water he'd collected in his cupped hands. Tiny streams skittered down his face like tears. He splayed his fingers, letting the water pour away.

"Even the purest water can't cleanse me," he whispered.

Starscream's smile dropped. He knelt in front of Unicron, hunching over to see his optics. As usual, they expressed nothing but reflections. "We don't have to stay."

"We wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be."

Thunder rumbled in the distance. Darker, jagged clouds moved overhead.

Unicron's gaze shifted back to Starscream in the same moment lightning flashed. Hunger flickered in his eyes and Starscream answered with a silent nod. Without a word, Unicron stood and advanced like the storm. The rain became his kiss, the wind his body, the lightning his energy and the thunder his voice. He was upon Starscream now, leaning him against the tallest tree. Branches snapped under the pressure, though the trunk remained strong. Pine needles mixed into the rain coating their bodies.

Neither spoke, there was only their bodies drawing closer. The storm raged on as Unicron hiked Starscream off the ground and connected their ports. Being wet made their electrical energy flow everywhere. Oh, it felt so good...Starscream could only cling to Unicron. Unicron clutched at the tree, his fingers leaving deep scratches in the brown bark. Wind gusts blew greenery against his face and lips.

Thunder shook the ground.

"Star _scream_..."

Gale force winds rocked the tree.

"Unicro--mmh!"

More lightning.

Unicron's mouth twitched.

Thunder.

Starscream's hands tightened.

Hail fell like bombs.

"Unh, S-S-Star _scream!_ " Unicron arched up, optics blazing.

Lightning destroyed a nearby tree. Thunder drowned out the boom.

Starscream shrieked. "Oh... _OH_!"

The hail became torrential rain that doused the burning tree and washed the mud off Unicron's legs.

Seven lightning flashes passed. Each following thunderclap was softer than the previous.

Unicron and Starscream remained poised against the tree. Starscream marveled at the wet patterns on Unicron's cheeks. He gently pecked the dark god's lips and let his head fall back again, orange optics gazing up at the sparkles of sky showing through the pine needles. Surrounding him were the passionate trenches Unicron's fingers dug in the tree trunk.

"Oof, man, Unicron...that was...how was it for you?"

"You put on quite a show." Unicron smirked. He eased Starscream into a standing position. Starscream almost burst out laughing when Unicron walked back into the rain--a pine branch was stuck across his aft!

"Um, Unicron?"

"Hm?"

Starscream plucked up the branch.

Unicron arched a brow. "Ah, I was wondering why that itched."

Starscream smiled and tossed it aside. They sat together in the grass, rain washing the pine needles off as they watched the storm peter out. Their armor sizzled until their bodies cooled to the ambient temperature--though Starscream took  _much_  amusement in the steam rising off Unicron's codpiece.

The rain lightened until the only dripping sounds came from excess rainwater falling off the trees. Sunlight emerged between the dreary clouds. The world sparkled, doused in stars, and the sky was still sprinkling. Starscream calculated the nearest forty five degree angle and turned his head. What he expected to see waited right where he imagined it'd be.

"Look," he pointed.

Unicron did so. The corners of his mouth relaxed. "That is..."

"A rainbow, yes."

"...beautiful." When he said it, his voice was ethereal, distant, even dreamy. "Starscream, you're painting."

"What? No, I'm not!"

"Yes." Without taking his eyes off the rainbow, Unicron took Starscream's hand and replied, "Your mind made the ordinary become so much more. I did not bring this illusion to life--you did. That is why it holds such beauty. Everything I see through your eyes is magnificent."

The compliment made Starscream's face hot. " _Me_? How am I doing this? I thought you--"

"I only brought us here." Unicron said, drawing Starscream closer. He pressed a fierce kiss to the Seeker's lips, "You are bringing it to  _life_. Now show me more."

The corner of Starscream's mouth curled upwards. He showed Unicron how clouds changed color at sunset, recalled how birds twittered in the trees and brought forth the mysterious, yet colorful veil of the Aurora Borealis. Unicron watched it all through indifferent optics...but Starscream knew it was touching him when the hand he still clutched clung on even tighter.

"But Unicron..." Starscream peered up at his golden companion, "Why my eyes?"

"Because I don't see the beauty in things like you do."

"Then what do you see?"

"A reflection of what I am inside." He gestured and the landscape around them became darkened desolation. It looked as if a fire gutted the forest, turning the trees into dead, blackened husks. The ground was hard, cracked ash. Scents of smoke and decay replaced the rain and pine. It was hot, suffocating, the air almost too heavy even for intake valves.

He'd turned a forest of beauty into a landscape of pain.

An indistinct figure appeared on the horizon. At the sight of it, Unicron jerked his arm up and quickly ended the illusion. Everything melted like a dream. Starscream found himself alone in the middle of a four-way corridor. He rested a hand on the nearest wall. It felt like rock, yet had a fleshy give to it, and it trembled against his fingertips.

"Hey, you okay, Unicron?" he asked, concerned.

**Cherish your freedom to see all things beautiful, Starscream.**

Unicron's lights dimmed after he spoke, an indication that he had nothing more to say.


	5. 5

His wing blade sliced the air, cutting down an imaginary opponent. He whirled to the left. The light of Unicron's stone core flashed over his lithe red body. Flowing through katas put his mind at ease. He twirled gracefully around and almost flew out of his armor when Unicron's avatar caught the end of his blade.

"Gah!"

"Why spar the air when you have me?"

Starscream growled, "Funny, I never pictured you engaging in hand to hand."

"What? Did you expect me to rely solely on telekinesis and illusions?  _Please_. What if someone broke past those defenses? It wouldn't bode well for me if I had no self defense skills. Therefore..." Unicron crouched slightly and curled his arms as though pouring something from a giant container, "...come at me, Starscream."

Starscream charged. His body hit the ground before he even saw Unicron move. He performed a stunning handstand and scissor-kicked his legs. Dodging easily, Unicron skidded to a stop near Starscream's left side. Starscream snatched up his wing blade and thrust sideways. This time, Unicron stood there and let Starscream run him through. The force of the thrust knocked him onto his back. He dropped and lay still.

Time froze and his world tunneled around the blade jutting from Unicron's belly. Starscream thought he'd be sick.

"U-Unicron?"

No reply, though his optics still glowed.

"Unicron...oh, no," Starscream rushed to his side and knelt, cradling the dark god's head, "You idiot! Why didn't you dodge? What kind of--"

"Starscream, relax."

"--idiot just stands there and--huh?" he froze, mid-rant, and noticed Unicron looked up at him as calm and collected as ever. The sinking sensation in his fuel tank exploded into swelling heat. "Oh, you  _bastard_! Do you enjoy jerking my chain?"

"Sometimes, yes. You aren't amused?"

"Grr!" Starscream grabbed his blade and wrenched it from Unicron's body. "NO!"

Unicron's wound vanished almost instantly. Only when the blade actually left his body did he flinch. He kipped up with a grace that belied his bulky form and his feet slammed down on the floor. The boom echoed off the walls.

"Nice thrust there." Unicron rubbed his top two abdominal lights. "Had I been an average Cybertronian, that would have killed me...and quite painfully, I might add."

Starscream dropped his wing blade and sank to his knees, his optics staring blankly at Unicron's face. His logic circuits hurt from trying to make sense of the situation. "I...impaled you..."

"You impaled a very sophisticated mental projection. I can survive the destruction of my entire body as long as this," he tapped the gleaming stone with a digit of his wing array, "stays intact. Everything I was and still am exists inside that shell. My entire body can regenerate from just this. So, you see, I'm practically invincible."

His frame shaking, Starscream hung his head, all desire to spar wiped out. Just the idea of outright killing an opponent who couldn't fight back made him ill. Despite the long war he had only taken a few lives in hand to hand, and that was only when it was either kill or die himself. Violence was a necessary evil...that didn't mean he had to like it.

"You don't share Megatron's lust for death."

"No, I don't." Starscream replied.

Unicron's feet clanked on the ground. He hooked his left foot under Starscream's wing blade, kicked it up into his hand and offered it back handle-first. Starscream accepted it and settled it into the housing behind his shoulder.

"This whole war would stop if the Mini-Cons were taken out of the picture. The Autobots think the Mini-Cons should choose for themselves...and my side--well let's just say Megatron thinks they should be used to conquer the universe. So either he or the Mini-Cons are the key to ending this whole mess."

Unicron's eyes flickered when Starscream mentioned the Mini-Cons. "Yes, the Mini-Cons..." Then he crossed his arms and his avatar vanished.  **Excuse me. I'm about to eat a _very_  large planet. Mm, it has a lot of igneous rock...my favorite.**

Then a loud crash signaled Unicron's pincers latching onto the unfortunate world.

 **Oh, yes...**  Unicron's voice echoed to silence. His defense systems activated--a sign that he was attacking an inhabited world. This wasn't the first planet Starscream was aware of him consuming, but it was the first one with life.

I sense your concern. This planet is already dying. The inhabitants have destroyed their own ecosystem and grown too arrogant for their own good. I'm doing the universe a favor by getting rid of them. Better this world than the rest of their solar system, which by the way I will be leaving alone.

Unicron spoke coldly before he fell silent, save only for the sounds of weapons fire and the planet crunching apart.

Starscream shut out the chaos and genocide the best he could...it wasn't fair of him to judge Unicron's actions any more than a rodent could judge a feline. Unicron was a galactic predator who kept the line between god and mortal clear. He maintained balance, consuming only worlds on the edge of doom while leaving younger, newborn places to thrive and evolve.

The Seeker sat down again, dipping his fingers into the energon pool. "Nothing seems to scare you...not killing, not death..." he licked his fingertips clean. "Don't you have any fears?"

Distant grinding noises reverberated through the floor. Unicron didn't answer, naturally. He rarely talked once he had a planet in his grasp. Sometimes he'd reply to a question hours later, long after Starscream forgot what he asked.

 _Hm...I wonder if he'll mind me seeing how he works_.

Starscream wandered into the corridor, curious about the giant god's digestive system. Finding it wouldn't be hard with all the noise his digestive process made. Two levels down, Starscream stepped onto a platform overlooking machinery the size of ships. It was strange--Unicron's body separated entire oceans worth of liquids from solids. How he did it was a mystery; there were no grates, no sifts, his body just "knew".

Solid material entered giant metallic pouches that appeared a cross between stomachs and blenders. Six of them lined the back wall and one by one they pulverized mountain sized pieces of a planet into smaller asteroid-sized chunks. Evidence of civilization occasionally appeared amidst the rubble, but the "stomachs" did not distinguish and crushed them too. The colorful mix passed through glowing blue tubing and spilled noisily onto conveyor belts leading into metal chambers. Every single piece that emerged had been ground into a perfect sphere no larger than Starscream's fists. How Unicron accomplished this was impossible to guess.

Starscream leaned over, watching the spheres pile up on the moving surfaces. A lot fell off the belts, but more than half were destined for certain doom. When the chambers reached maximum capacity, their walls slammed shut like Venus fly traps, compacting all the matter under tremendous pressure. Never in his life would Starscream hear a louder sound--it left his audio sensors crackling.

The chamber walls ground against each other like chewing teeth until their silver surfaces glowed white. All the while the conveyor belts kept moving, spilling their contents across the floor. Tentacles emerged from the walls and swept the stones away.

Suddenly, the largest pipe Starscream had ever seen rose from the center of the floor and connected to the ceiling. It was transparent and of such a size that Unicron could easily spread his hand open inside. Glowing lilac liquid bubbled up through the ground and slowly filled the pipe like rising mercury in a thermometer. When it reached the top, a network of tubes around the walls pulsated to circulate the fluid throughout Unicron's body. They ranged in size from giant tunnels to tiny capillaries.

Noises grew louder as the machinery began operating faster. The water stored separately rained down to keep everything cool. Steam drifted up in tremendous white clouds, coating the central pipe in condensation. Interesting trick--Starscream noticed a lack of coolant lines in this particular section of Unicron's body, and all the friction would require Unicron basically stop all other operations just to digest a meal. Not efficient in the middle of a fight.

The ingenuity made Starscream grin.  _He was right...it IS just like a mining station. He's producing enough energon to feed all of Cybertron for millions of years!_

Steam fogged his orange optics, blurring his view. He wiped them clean and stepped back. Suddenly, a tube burst from the wall in front of his face! He almost leapt from his metal skin.

"What the!"

**Open your mouth.**

He did so. The tube stretched forth and trickled searing hot energon across his glossa. It burned initially, he wasn't ready for the high temperature, but the pain only lasted a few seconds. He rolled the hot, thick sweetness around on his tongue before he swallowed it. Fresh energon was syrupy like oil.

Starscream licked a few errant drops off his lips. "This is gourmet level energon!"

The tube pushed his head to the left. Tiny energon cubes popped out of an opening in the wall, were filled with a few drops of the high grade and whisked away to storage.

 **Now you know where the high end merchants get it.**  Unicron chuckled, a humorless sound.

Starscream arched an optic ridge. "I didn't know you took part in commerce."

**I don't. I just find their greed amusing.**

"Oh." Then his head began to swim. Unicron gave him less than a mouthful of fresh energon and it had the same effect as three dipperfuls of the lower grade stuff. "What did you eat? This batch is...phew..."

 **The minerals were so pure...**  Unicron's voice sounded different, more relaxed,  **...mm, nice...Starscream, don't stay in that chamber if you're going to offline on me--you don't want to pass out in there.**

"Fine." Starscream let the buzz go to his head as he made his way back to Unicron's core. He found his companion's avatar seated by the energon pool, waiting for him.

"Excuse me if I don't stand--as I said, the minerals are so pure..." his voice trailed off.

"Are you..." Starscream ventured closer, noticing how Unicron slouched a bit where he sat, "You are!" He laughed raucously, his vocal processors slurring, "I didn't think somebody your, uhh, size could over-energize!"

"Please," muttered Unicron, his speech slower than normal, as if he took great care to pronounce each word properly, "it is slight and it will pass within an hour. What I didn't absorb will come up in the pool. I'd advise you to only indulge a little at a time. This mix is rather potent."

Potent indeed. Just one mouthful created lag in Starscream's sensory systems.

"Slight? You won't even...oh, what's that term? stand up!"

"I've been off-lined by a planet with pure ores before. So I consider any intoxication that allows me to remain conscious as 'slight'."

It still amused Starscream to no end. He never imagined Unicron drunk before and didn't know what to expect. A little node of caution wiggled into his consciousness. A relaxed, drunken Unicron might also turn into a violent, angry Unicron--no way to know for sure.

"So...about my question..."

"Hm?"

"I asked if anything...you know...scares you."

"Oh, that." Unicron settled down on his side, propped his elbow on the ground and rested his cheek on his fist. He patted the raised space in front of him and Starscream wobbled over to seat himself on it. Then he went on, "Long ago, I was afraid of the dark."

The energon stupor made Unicron's voice sound deeper. It moved through Starscream like a slow lava flow. He barely processed anything he said, only rousing himself when he realized the pleasant voice stopped talking.

"You? Afraid of the dark?"

"Amazing, but true. The dark is a great unknown. Is there a wall just ahead? A hole in the ground? Something waiting to cause harm? Many things...being left in the dark often meant suffering for me. Fear is a powerful weapon when used well...just imagine for a moment knowing the source of your pain is waiting for you. You can't see it, you don't know when it will strike, but you know it can see you and it is laughing at how you flinch every time it whispers your name..." he gasped and slapped his hands on the ground, sitting up straight. "That was my life...and--sometimes...it still haunts me. Things unseen... ghosts...s-solitude..." and his voice actually broke, though his face remained impassive. For a second it looked like he wanted to scream. He cycled a long intake and Starscream tightened in anticipation for a sound that never came. Instead, Unicron sighed deeply and relaxed back into his original posture.

"Unicron?"

Unicron clenched his teeth and shook his head, wiping a hand across his face. The ripple in his demeanor was gone. "Let's not discuss it anymore. It's a time I don't enjoy remembering."

Starscream frowned. Did he just glimpse pain? "Boy, Primacron must have--"

" _Don't_  talk about him."

Unicron didn't say it angrily. No hard edge, no warning tone, no slapping his hand down against the floor...just a flat sentence...yet it cut through the air and clapped over Starscream's mouth like a hand.

"...I'm sorry," whispered Starscream. "I didn't mean to--"

The dark god remained silent, his optics dim. "When he left me for dead, I started to create so I wouldn't be alone. I made one...then two...then thousands...all so tiny and harmless. They were mindless like me, obeying commands without question--I used them to build--" Unicron stopped mid-sentence to run his tongue over his fangs, a move that set Starscream's circuits on fire, "-- _repair_  myself before I learned how to heal without maintenance. They grew in intelligence over the years until they became sentient. Up until then I called them my children--they were so innocent, so eager to please. They evolved their own sentience. Right as they did, I made a mistake that frightened them away. They left me...and I let them go...I let them go and tried to forget about it all..." he gritted his teeth again, a sound like stone and metal grinding.

Starscream stared at Unicron's emotionless face. He was doing it again--talking about something incredibly painful while sounding utterly nonchalant about it.

"You made the Mini-Cons?" he asked.

Unicron snapped his fingers. "Guilty as charged. And your people decided to use them as weapons. Hence the wars. Isn't that amusing, Starscream? My children are your war machines. Just as I was  _his_..." and his voice trailed off yet again, as if he lost his train of thought.

Starscream thought of Swindle lying small and alone on his recharge berth on the moon base. Every Mini-Con was a child of Unicron? It sounded absurd, yet made perfect sense. How they were alive remained a mystery because they lacked Sparks. Scientists puzzled for years and never found the answer. But the answer was they evolved, they weren't built and animated by a piece of Creation as Cybertronians were.

"So, Starscream, what did Megatron do to you?"

The question was a slap in the face. Had Starscream been sober he would've taken offense at such a poke into his personal life. Getting blasted tended to loosen his tongue a little. Plus, in his drunken state, he rationalized that it was only fair he share since Unicron just did a minute ago.

But first, he had to be sassy. "Well, I thought you were all-knowing and watched."

"I'm aware of it, I didn't  _watch_."

"Oh. Well...usually it happens when I screw up. He...calls me into his throne room and--and, uh," the words rolled around in his head, bouncing off his processors and banging against angry memories, "He tells me what a failure I am, that I need to be straightened out. Then he advances and...you know..."

A steady red glow appeared in Unicron's optics. As Starscream spoke it became brighter, first an ember and then a flame. The corners of his mouth deepened in a barely perceptible frown. "I don't know...so tell me."

Why did Unicron dig at his pain like this?

"I try to be so perfect...that way--that way he uhh, he has no reason to 'discipline' me. So it feels like the entire damned universe conspires to make me fail! It must enjoy my torture!" Starscream growled, aching with remembering. He was proud of himself for not dissolving to tears, at least he had control of something.

"But what does Megatron  _do_? What happens when he calls you?"

"It's just like a regular uplink. He heats me up, kisses me, everything...but he finishes and never finishes me. And I take it, hoping--you said yourself he never will, but I still _hope_..." and finally, he found a name for the choking sensation he experienced whenever he thought of facing Megatron again: "Unicron, I'm  _afraid_  to face him. I hate him, but I'm--afraid. I-I'm afraid of what comes after I get what I want...he won't let me just walk away. I may  _not_  walk away."

Fingers snatched hold of his face, pulling him down until flaming red optics stared into his own.

"You mustn't let him see your fear. It doesn't matter what he says to threaten you,  _don't_  show him how scared you are. Even if he kills you...if you find yourself dying in his presence...show no fear."

Starscream hugged himself, his innards burning in anguish. Death always scared him. Like falling, except he didn't know where he would land.

"Words, Starscream. Remember? He will use words to frighten you, to dominate you. They mean nothing until he actually carries them out. Every nanosecond between the words and the action they describe is a nanosecond you can use to rationalize.  _Think_ , Starscream...it's like the illusion of falling. Threats and insults are the fall, now you must decide whether there is a ground below or not."

"I don't want to die."

"No one does. But be prepared for that possibility."

"But..." Starscream bit his lip and looked steadily into Unicron's optics, "So far from Primus...my Spark..."

"Should the worst happen..." Unicron moved his fingers away from Starscream's cheek. "I won't let you get lost, Starscream."

It was such a perfect moment, and Starscream's drunken stupor ruined it.

Dipping his finger in the energon pool, he reached out and smeared it across Unicron's mouth. That sexy, static-inducing, delicious, wonderful pair of perfect lips. He bent over and slurped it off, kissing him in the process. "Let's not get into this metaphorical stuff while I'm over energized. Mmkay?"

Unicron closed his mouth. "Starscream...no--"

He pushed his tongue past Unicron's lips and tried to force his clenched teeth apart. "I want you...right now. Kiss me, fuck me..."

Unicron bit Starscream's glossa just hard enough that Starscream yelped and jerked back. His teeth were sharp!

"You bit me!"

"You're out of control."

Without thinking, Starscream threw a left hook that rocked Unicron off-balance. He flipped him onto his back and prepared to line up their ports. Unicron snarled, grasped Starscream in his wing array shoved him to the ground, pinning him with his full weight. Then Unicron took hold of Starscream's wrists, slammed them down on either of his head and leaned over until their faces were inches apart. His optics shone like hellfire and his upper lip stiffened, allowing the tips of his fangs to poke out.

"I  _said_  no," Unicron whispered in Starscream's audio sensor, each word like acid. "Don't escalate this."

Don't escalate this? It made Starscream angry that Unicron wouldn't comply. His mind had tunneled towards one goal. He was sparking, he wanted satisfaction and he'd do anything for it whether Unicron liked it or not! "Unicron! I want--" he leaned up, aching to kiss those lips. "You  _will_ \--"

A blow to the cheek slammed him backwards. It wasn't a warning strike--the impact twisted his head sideways so violently that it dislocated the bearings in his neck. The sudden agony knocked him senseless. Reality swam in swirls and static. A sickening clank rang in his ears, the sound his head made bouncing off his engine nozzles. He was only dimly aware of Unicron poised above him, his arm extended in a follow-through.

 _He...hit me..._  Starscream fluttered back to consciousness. Energon flowed from the stinging slice the large knuckles took out of his cheek. He couldn't move his head. His jaw, neck and cheek hurt, but he didn't know if the pain was physical or mental. He laid there under a blanket of terror. Was he going to die here?

"Unh..."

Megatron's punches were nothing compared to Unicron's. He'd been on the receiving end of his hardest blow and it never actually  _broke his neck_  like that.

The fist pinning his left wrist slid away. The weight holding him down moved aside. A blurry shadow loomed in his peripheral vision. It morphed into Unicron's frowning black and silver visage.

Unicron glanced between Starscream and his own closed fist. The tension around his mouth vanished, replaced by a slight widening of his optics. He reached over and cradled Starscream's head in his hands without moving it, like something too fragile to handle.

"Starscream, can you hear me?"

Starscream groaned and tried to turn his head. Pain jolted his system. He screamed, there was no controlling it. His central nervous line ran through his neck...and now it was all tangled up. Through the corner of his optic, he saw Unicron visibly wince.

"Starscream! Don't move." Unicron's intakes paused, or did they hitch? "I'll repair you. Just stay still."

Fingers opened the delicate panels on the front of his throat and probed inside. His neck was attached to a column of ball bearings and his central nervous line, a coil of wiring similar to a human spinal cord, wove amongst them. Moving even one bearing out of alignment could disable or, if it severed the main wire, kill him. He bit his lip, flinching when Unicron began to push the bearings back into position. There was a click and the agony in his neck faded. The wire had been freed.

"Turn your head slowly."

Starscream complied. No pain and his neck rotated smoothly. He turned his head side to side, then tilted it back. The oily, exposed bearings glistened under his chin. He felt Unicron hold his head there while he examined the central line. "I'm okay."

Unicron replaced the panel. Grease stained his silver fingers black. He still cradled Starscream's head on his palm.

"I almost killed you."

"Unicron, I'm okay."

But Unicron didn't seem to hear him. His voice was a monotone reverberating through a tunnel of years longer than Starscream's existence. "I killed one of them...one of my children...with a strike like that. An accident...but the others saw it. They remembered and grew to fear me. That is why they left, Starscream. I was their protector and I betrayed them in one moment of anguish. Now they're in the middle of your war."

Starscream shivered when he thought of the humans back on Earth. Each so tiny, fragile and with such short lives. They, too, were mixed up in this age-old battle.

"Has anyone ever destroyed a piece of art you created?"

Starscream pulled his intoxicated mind back to the present and nodded. "Megatron obliterated something I spent a century creating." He could still remember it--a three dimensional reproduction of Primus inside a multicolored nebula. One of his largest pieces...and Megatron vaporized the holo-emitters because Starscream didn't come when he called. "I cried for days."

Unicron looked up and squinted his optics. "I cried for years over Welder. He was my first, my oldest. Tiny, all white and with a perpetual smile--he transformed into a blow torch. I loved him the most, Starscream. I  _loved_  that little creature. It didn't matter that his intelligence level was less than a rodent, he was my most precious child. And then I got angry one day and lashed out like I did at you--right in front of the others. I held him--I watched the light in his eyes fade away. Then his smile melted...and for me, the universe lost its beauty." His optics flared. Bending down, he kissed the scratch he inflicted, "Don't make me repeat myself,” he said. "I can't guarantee what I'll do if...just--don't make advances on me when I say no," he whispered the last words, "I didn't mean to injure you. I...lost control. Please, don't fear me."

Unicron did not beg, but something about his words pleaded with Starscream. He said "don't fear me”, but he obviously meant "don't leave me."

All this information threatened Starscream's logic circuits. Unicron just deadpanned through a story of something so Spark-wrenchingly painful it made Starscream's eyes tear up. Starscream didn't know whether to put his arms around Unicron or punch him and demand he show some emotion. Was he really that damned unfeeling?

And, on top of it all, Starscream was  _still_  drunk and getting aroused all over again. "Unicr--"

Ice crept back into Unicron's tone. "Don't forget the rules of our game. We both have to want it. And right now, I  _don't_."

The second Unicron finished speaking, his avatar disappeared, leaving Starscream alone in the room. He had three long hours to think about what he almost did. As he sobered up, he realized how close he came to forcing himself upon his godly companion. And did he imagine it, or was there actual sadness in Unicron's optics when he disappeared?

"Unicron, I'm--"

Don't apologize for something you can't control. You become seductive when you over-energize, Starscream. You don't recall the last time you tanked up...you started speaking extremely sexually, so I put you to sleep.

"I-I don't remember anything after the third drink you gave me."

**I know. I will forget this ever happened because you were not in full control of your actions, but do not expect a third chance. I once heard that intoxication can bring out a person's dark side--I hope you learned something about yourself Starscream. Even you, as good-looking as you are, can turn ugly if you're not careful.**

The reality of how... _ugly_  he'd been was actually potent enough to make Starscream output the half-processed energon still sitting in his fuel tank. He watched it seep into the floor like water into soil. It left a bitter taste in his mouth. Starscream gazed up at the glowing stone, his mind swirling with fragmented memories.

If Unicron hadn't been physically stronger than him, he would have raped him. He would have taken him regardless of protests or cries to stop.

He fell into recharge without realizing how tired he was. As he slept, he dreamed he looked into a mirror and saw half his body crumble away, leaving behind hideous wounds. He awoke with a cry, shaking and disoriented until the touch of Unicron's large hands reminded him of where he was. He burrowed into those arms, terrified that the next reflective surface he saw would reveal a horrible, half-rusted visage.

_Primus, is that what I almost turned into?_

"I don't want to be that way. I-I used to want Megatron...I used to feel proud when he overloaded off me..." he shivered, "You can't rape the willing. I was willing."

"No, you weren't. He had you believing you were. In reality, you complied out of fear of something worse." Unicron took Starscream's face between his hands and made him look into his optics. "You are not his toy now. You are not an object. He does not own you. He can not bend your will to his favor because yours is stronger now. You aren't surviving on pure hatred anymore."

Starscream peered up and saw the seriousness in Unicron's gaze. The intensity of the dark god's crimson optics bore right through him. "So? It seemed to work for you. I swear, if you put me through all of this just to tell me that, I'll--"

"Stop assuming!" Unicron snapped. He cooled when Starscream relaxed, and went on, "Even before Primus gave me sentience, I loved and trusted with the intensity of the hottest sun. Then I was betrayed. I tried to love again one more time--my children, the Mini-Cons--and I failed them. The little light I had left went out when they ran from me, and now I am the coldest comet in space. I am surrounded by self loathing. I hate what I've become and I hate that I can't change it." he leaned closer, whispering against Starscream's mouth, "I don't want to see you suffer the same fate. You are like me, but you must never become me. Not when you still burn with the desire for freedom."

Starscream waited for Unicron to kiss him, but the dark god drew back and gazed at the glowing stone that made up his heart.

"No one in this universe has the freedom you do," Starscream protested, frowning. "You can go anywhere you want! You want to go look at a beautiful nebula? Boom! You can. That isn't freedom?"

Turning, Unicron looked down with the same haunted eyes Starscream saw on the cliff. He became as still as a holo-painting. It went on for so long that Starscream startled when he finally spoke, "You  _are_  more free than I can ever be. The beauty of space means nothing to someone who only sees it as more emptiness." And then, the faintest hint of softness flicked on and off in his optics. "Being around you reminds me of how I was all those eons ago. And that...makes space less empty for me."

Why did hearing that make him ache? Starscream cocked his head, trying to convince himself that the pang in his throat wasn't sympathy. "My making you remember...doesn't it hurt?"

"No..." Unicron leaned forward and the corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. "...it pleases me."

The words reached into Starscream's Spark and spread a warmth through his body. If Unicron couldn't feel anymore... then Starscream decided right there that he'd do all the feeling for both of them. He started by letting himself smile. Next thing he knew, Unicron was kissing him. Harsh, brutal lip locks--but he always kissed that way--and Starscream melted into his lips.

"Unicron."

The reply came between kisses, "Hm?"

Starscream traced Unicron's lips, "I won't leave until you tell me to."

Unicron clasped Starscream's hands. " _That_  pleases me even  _more_."

Their fingers slowly interlocked as their bodies came together, and their hands remained entwined long after the rough uplink put them both in recharge.

.o

"...he might approach you. Let him. Let him think he's going to best you."

Starscream brought himself back to reality, if this could be called such, and refocused on Unicron. The world Unicron made this time was a beach at perpetual sunset--he had Starscream paint it, and then he made it real. The landscape was rocky, not sandy, sand was horrible under metal plates like theirs. The silver-blue water lapped and foamed around their legs. Starscream rested in the crook of Unicron's arm, half asleep. Unicron's hand drew delightful patterns across his nozzles and wingtips.

"Megatron hits hard. You hit harder, but--"

"You can take a blow, Starscream."

Starscream sighed. "Maybe I like the pain."

"Don't be a fool." That blessed hand traced hypnotic circles around Starscream's cockpit. "He won't stop until you make it clear that you are not going to submit sexually. Be prepared for a violent response."

Starscream rolled over to straddle Unicron's hips. Not exactly comfortable, but he liked being on top. He peered down at the larger Transformer, who spread out nicely underneath him with his wing array splayed haphazardly across the rocky ground. The low lighting made his armor look like bronze, his optics two scarlet gems peering up from the shadows crossing his face.

"This is the way I want to be," he said. His hands fisted on Unicron's chest. The pit of his being felt hot, swollen, like an explosion about to happen.

"I know. But, Starscream, it is entirely possible for him to spoil your fun."

To prove his point, Unicron hooked one leg behind Starscream's knee and flipped them over, slamming Starscream against the ground. He pinned his shoulders down. Not once did Starscream break optic contact.

Unicron half-smiled, his eyes unreadable, "This is the most likely scenario. You must wait until he is near his overload point. You know as well as I do that it diverts more power to protect his Spark chamber from shorting out. He will be vulnerable. The same goes for you. Make sure you time it just right."

Starscream growled and reversed their positions again, pressing Unicron into the rocks beneath them. His red hull was brilliant against Unicron's gold and black body. Fire danced through his orange optics. "I can take care of myself."

"Of course." Unicron said in that sultry, purring tone that indicated his growing arousal. He extended his finger and painted another mesmerizing pattern on Starscream's chassis.

"I-I'll--masturbate first. Not all the way--but enough to be buzzing. Enough that I'll be nasty," Starscream bent until his nose nearly touched Unicron's. "This whole game won't work unless I overload. I want him to see my face. I'm going to fuck him with all my hate." Then he let their foreheads touch and gazed into the red pools that showed him nothing but his own reflection.

Unicron said, "You don't want to climax prematurely, which could happen if you become so excited that you forget your goal."

"I have to start myself. I can't go in cold."

"Yes, but willpower alone won't hold off an overload forever. Just numb your cone sensors."

Starscream gasped, "Isn't that dangerous?"

"Surgeons do it manually so you're not sparking and zapping when they have to perform repairs in that area. Apply that same principle."

"I've never tried it that way before." Starscream felt Unicron draw his bottom lip into his mouth and suckle on it. Tingling heat spread across his circuits again. That amazing, wonderful, powerful mouth moved across his jaw and nuzzled his throat. Dexterous fingers traced the edges of his right wing and nozzles, pushing between panels to tantalize delicate wiring.

This always happened whenever Starscream thought about how much he hated Megatron. He looked again at Unicron's eyes, searching them without knowing exactly what he sought. His throat heated and he relaxed against Unicron, trying to bring their bodies into full contact. The Spark in his chest, his life source, throbbed. He and Unicron had performed many sexual acts--but never the ultimate act, the touching of Sparks. Technically speaking he was still a virgin since he never shared his Spark with anyone. He never wanted to before...not until now. The desire came on so strongly that it ached through his core.

 **You're falling for me,**  Unicron spoke to his mind.

Starscream's Spark twitched. Was it true? He tightened his lips and forced himself to move away from Unicron, away from the closeness of his Spark. It angered him that he gave himself away so easily, so he quickly jumped on the defensive. "Love? Hah! What makes you think I'd fall for someone like you anyway?"

Unicron sat up on his elbows, Starscream's anguish rolling off him like water. His tone remained neutral as if he didn't care one way or another how his words were taken. "It can happen. It's how you are. I give you what you crave in life, Starscream. It's only natural to cling."

"Big deal!" Starscream shouted in Unicron's face, again forgetting who exactly he was yelling at.

Unbothered, Unicron replied, "You're afraid."

"Of Megatron? Yeah, right!" A red line of anguish slashed down the center of Starscream's being. "I  _hate_  Megatron." He felt the rage spreading outwards like hands tearing him asunder. "I'm sick of this war, sick of him using me, sick of--"

A violent kiss silenced his tirade. He bit angrily at the supple lips digging against his mouth. Unicron kissed him so hard that Starscream thought his teeth might be flattened against the roof of his mouth. He lifted his tongue against Unicron's, fighting with it.

"You're afraid to face how you feel," Unicron said between lip locks, "because everything you love disappears."

Starscream shoved Unicron's face away, breaking their kiss. He trembled and felt as if all the molecules in his body stopped cold. How dare Unicron assume such a thing about him? How  _dare_  he! The corners of his mouth wrinkled with tension. He planted his hand on Unicron's throat, pinning him harder to the rocks. " _Bastard_ , don't EVER bring that up again. EVER!"

 **You are getting braver.** Unicron's face remained like stone. **You speak your mind--I like that.**

Starscream growled, took his hand off Unicron's throat and held his wrists down over his head instead. Then, enraged, he bent and bit the Chaos-bringer's lips until they leaked energon. Starscream lapped it up and bit him again, over and over. Pulling back, he stared in horror when he saw Unicron's mouth shredded like paper. The dark god's eyes were shadowed in obvious pain.

"Oh, no," Starscream let go of Unicron's arms, his anger forgotten. He didn't think when he cupped Unicron's face in shaking hands and tilted his head up for a better look at the damage. "Unicron, I--didn't mean to..." he clenched his fists, the fury returning. Only this time he directed it at himself.

"Star _scream_ ," Unicron sighed. The purple wounds healed in seconds, his once torn lips pulling into a sly smirk. "Do that  _again_."

"Are you--"

"Yes. Drink from me, Starscream."

 _Sometimes I wonder why this excites you_ , Starscream thought, though he obliged. He heard the squishing sounds of his teeth cutting into the fleshy metal. Energon flowed and he lapped it up like those fanged blood-suckers in human horror stories. Unicron hissed in continual pain while simultaneously demanding harder bites.

Starscream's eyes misted over when he saw the sheer deadness on Unicron's face. Hot aching built in the back of his throat. His lips quivered. He didn't know whether he felt like crying for himself or because Unicron couldn't.

"When you look at me...do I look dead and rusted?"

 **No,**  Unicron replied.  **You are as stunning as the art you create.**

Why did hearing that hurt as much as it healed? Starscream growled under his breath. The swollen, hot feeling around his Spark chamber grew overwhelming. He broke his gaze away from Unicron, unable to bear his lifeless stare any longer.

They were a tangle of red and gold, metal on metal, and cast only one shadow across the ground. The ocean sizzled. Steam condensed on their bodies, giving the appearance of sweat.

Turn down your port.

Starscream did it. The feeling in his lower body slowly diminished until he only received data from his pressure sensors. Unicron's hand slithered to his cone. Starscream sensed fingers touching him...but he didn't buck helplessly from the pleasure. He let Unicron manipulate him for link-up, heard the click of his cone sliding into the open panel and detected the vibrations deep in his belly.

Unicron shuddered. His lips healed over, allowing him to speak, "You can hold an orgasm off longer this way. Overloads occur because our bodies try to displace the charge by cycling it through our neural network. Now, if you cut off the lines the charge travels on, it's trapped in one place. The fun part? Reconnecting those lines. It's a flood of sensation, Starscream. You will enjoy it." He sat up and eased Starscream to the ground, putting himself on top.

"Won't Megatron notice?"

"Not if he's too frenzied to care."

Starscream snapped, "He isn't stupid."

"Then fake it. Grunt. Moan. Make noises."

With that, Unicron turned up his voltage. Starscream folded a hand behind his head and enjoyed the strange numbness in his loins. It seemed like he was someone else, another figure watching two bots enjoying an uplink. At least it did until he became aware of his coolant pumps in his lower half speeding up. A queer sensation he neither expected nor knew how to interpret, usually their movements were masked by the other input from his neural net.

Unicron bent down. Against Starscream's lips, he asked, "Are your pumps going faster?"

Starscream nodded, tension winding through his back. "It--feels good."

He watched how Unicron's mouth and cheeks tightened, an indicator of his approaching overload. His voice became strained, "Tell me your peak coolant cycles per second ratio."

"Sixty nine rotations per second."

"Mm. Good number," said Unicron. His sharp edges caught the setting sun in the spectacular way that made Starscream's Spark throb.

Starscream pushed himself up on his elbows and kissed Unicron's pouty bottom lip. He repeated the gesture on his top lip and then pushed his glossa into Unicron's mouth. Their tongues met and whirled in a tornado of frenzied passion. His chest ached again despite his pain sensors being completely offline.

"Wait for that cycle--that is when you flip Megatron...over..." his voice grew into a growling purr as his climax neared, "...and turn everything back on."

Starscream grinned at Unicron. He wanted to reach up and wrap his arms around the dark god's neck--but this session wasn't all for enjoyment, it was a lesson. Starscream forced himself to focus on his coolant pumps. They throbbed on either side of his pelvic joints, right above where his legs came out of his body. Sixty revolutions. Sixty five. Sixty seven. At sixty eight revolutions per second, Starscream hooked his leg behind Unicron's knee and flipped them both over. Their armored bodies scraped hard across the rocks, metal parts shrieking in protest. Unicron was so near his overload that he couldn't resist. Starscream experienced none of the usual weakening--his circuits had been offline the whole time, allowing full power to remain directed at his limbs. He felt his pumps reach sixty nine cycles and turned his sensors back online.

The orgasm hit all at once. Like asteroids, lightning and reality itself beating on him. Starscream cried out in surprise. With this climax came incredible strength that let him pin Unicron, who was physically stronger than him, into the ground with enough force to crack the rocks. He stared into the larger Transformer's optics while grinding against his open port.

Suddenly, his cockpit glass retracted to expose his Spark. It was involuntary and he gazed down at himself in shock. His Spark actually flashed and delivered a lightning strike to Unicron's chest. Unicron arched his back and held his own chest plates shut. His red optics remained unreadable.

"I'm going to do it, Unicron. Megatron will experience...THIS!"

Starscream leapt off Unicron. He collapsed to his knees, spent. It took him several seconds to close his cockpit over his Spark.

Lightning shot from Unicron's access port. He appeared so shocked by this that the illusionary world faded to the void of space. They were drifting in the red and blue glow of a stellar binary system.

Starscream stood up from his seat on Unicron's shoulder. He'd never seen the giant Transformer aroused in his real body before...he could literally feel the energy buzzing under his feet. Sparks zapped from panel to panel and occasionally snapped against his red armor.

For ages nothing significant happened. Unicron just cycled deeply. Then his lips parted, exposing mountainous fangs built to pulverize anything they sank into.

"U-Unicron?"

Unicron ran his glossa over his front teeth. One massive hand moved past Starscream. It eclipsed the red star, swallowing the Seeker briefly in shadow, and dropped beyond sight. Then Unicron's whole body jerked like an earthquake.

**Look at what you're making me do...**

Unicron stiffened. Starscream jettisoned several hundred meters away. He wanted to see this. The mighty gold Transformer floated against a stellar background. His wing array whipped around him, gleaming menacingly like metal snakes. Starscream stared. He was watching a god masturbate. He  _caused_  that god to be so aroused that he had to relieve himself. His orange optics followed the silver fingers as they jammed violently into the open panel, generating an electrical hum. Sparks the size of lightning discharges skittered around his fingers.

Unicron's chest plates flipped open and the nozzle of a cannon emerged. Then, suddenly, it split down the middle and white light illuminated his metal beard. He touched its source. In doing so, he arched backwards, one leg bent and his other arm reaching straight up, fingers curled almost delicately. Two digits of his wing array impaled his access port. The sudden motions sent him rotating and he did nothing to stop it.

 **You spun like this when you painted,**  whispered Unicron. He kept spinning, each rotation perfect without a wobble, as if a string connected his wrist to some invisible ceiling above.

Then he wrapped his fist around his Spark and hissed through his teeth in clear  _pain_.

Starscream's jaw dropped at Unicron's behavior. At the same time, his own Spark ached.

The red star collapsed and went supernova.

Lightning wound down Unicron's legs and up towards his chest. His Spark flickered, emitting a keening that pounded Starscream's senses. Unicron finally arched his back and grunted in release, outlined by blinding supernova light that appeared to emerge from his body. He rocked in place, trembling, and Starscream found it a terrifying race between the massive god's orgasm and the supernova shockwave.

"S-Star _scream!_ " Unicron whispered. He squeezed his Spark and his mouth flexed open and shut. "Star... _scream_..."

There it was again--the pained tone he used when Starscream overloaded him during his recharge cycle. His body thrashed three times and relaxed, the electric discharges slowing until they stopped. He hung there in space, shoulders hunched and lips parted, two wing digits still lodged in his access port. Behind him, the supernova continued to spread ruin and chaos through the darkness.

"I did it for you, Starscream..." Unicron gasped, his eyes haunted. "I danced. I've never danced before. Was it beautiful? Did it please you?"

"Unicron?"

He tightened his fist around his Spark again, strangling it. The glow in his eyes flickered. "Did it  _please_  you?"

"Yes!" Starscream shouted, frantic. "Now come on! You're--you're scaring me. Let me back in, I should check your--"

Unicron's optics turned black. His body pitched forward, a marionette without strings, and his free hand drifted gracefully past Starscream.

"Unicron?" Starscream snickered, "Nice one, you had me going for about--oh--three seconds."

No response, not even a flicker.

"Unicron?"

Nothing.

" ** _Unicron!_** "


	6. 6

Disbelief tugged at Starscream's fuel tank. Relief flooded him upon seeing white light glowing through Unicron's fingers. Unicron was still alive--just unconscious. His darkened optics were like two black voids devouring the stripes on his cheeks. Light and shadow raced over his form as his body rotated gently in the darkness. Unicron had never looked so vulnerable before. In any other situation, Starscream would have been awed by the beautiful patterns Unicron's wing array made around his body and the delicate way his outstretched hand appeared to pull the stars within reach.

"Unicron!" Starscream shouted.  _He...he caused himself so much pain that he passed out! Why, Unicron? Why?_

Several moments passed--moments filled with an encroaching shockwave--before the dark god's red optics came back online. He straightened, licking his lips while his Spark retracted and his chest plates snapped shut. Coolant beads the size of asteroids emerged when he pulled his wing digits out of his access port.

A black hole formed in the supernova's center. The matter thrown out began doubling back on itself, falling into the newborn gravity well.

The same hand Unicron used to abuse his Spark reached out. Starscream landed on the broad palm. Unicron's hand trembled enough to make Starscream lose his footing and fall on his backside.

As usual, his face was inscrutable. Did he even  _care_  that he caused unnecessary concern?

"Don't ever..." Starscream kicked Unicron's thumb. Like kicking a mountain, but he didn't care. He flipped his engine nozzles over and fired his null rays on the same space he kicked. It didn't do any damage. Starscream whirled back around to meet Unicron's eyes, his own optics glowing like orange hellfire. He thought he'd explode in rage. "Don't EVER scare me that way again!"

Without a word, Unicron turned so they faced the newborn black hole. Its reflection shimmered in his red optics. He still cycled heavily, his huge chest visibly moving.

"That has been my life," the dark god whispered, "That is what life has done to me. That is the picture of my hate. Isn't it remarkable how beautiful it looks from here? But get too close and it destroys you."

Unicron picked the worst possible time to wax poetic. Starscream's self-preservation senses ran in overdrive. He stomped on Unicron's palm, shouting, "We  _really_  should get out of here!"

"No."

The energon drained from Starscream's face. "I'm all for stellar phenomenon...but...we're too close!"

"Starscream,  _trust_  me."

Before Starscream could ask further questions, Unicron rose up. The shockwave was a white ring from the exploded star's equatorial region, a flying concussion of stellar matter and kinetic force. It spread into the blackness like a pond ripple. Colors--mostly red from hydrogen--propagated as previously invisible interstellar gas reacted to the radiation. Unicron turned his back to the wave. Space dust lingering around his feet splayed out, pushed by the thrusters in his soles.

Then the wave slammed into them. They fell back into its outer edge and Starscream cringed in anticipation of being vaporized. He was surprised to find himself still intact. Not only intact, but moving sideways across the expelled matter. Unicron had his knees bent and his toes pointed forward. Beneath his feet, probably less than a light year, a white wall of death. Up ahead, stellar dust glowed as the wave swept it up.

"This is crazy!"

"Would you like to try?"

" _No!_ "

"Yes, you do." Reality melted and Unicron's arms held him from behind. "Now," Ignoring Starscream's protests, Unicron guided him to bend his knees and point his toes forward. "The dangerous part is one light year away from us. We are on the outermost edge of the wave."

Panting, trying not to panic, Starscream clung to the hands resting against his chest. He didn't dare look up to see how fast they were moving.

"Nothing can catch us here," Unicron whispered in his ear. He lifted his hands up and away, spreading Starscream's arms. Suddenly it was just his hands keeping Starscream stable in the chaos.

Starscream shot Unicron a nervous glance.

Unicron pulled him deeper into the wave, "Stop doubting yourself." Then he towed him back to the outer edge and let go.

"UNICRON!" Starscream shrieked...only to find he wasn't burning, vaporizing or melting. Not yet, anyway.

Unicron cut past him, posed like a human surfer on an invisible board. "Catch me."

And he sailed off, his metal feet generating a tremendous, curling wake.

"Hey!"

_Damn you!_  Starscream tried not to look up or down, focusing single mindedly on Unicron's glittering wing array, which he kept splayed for balance. He fired off his boosters, leaned forward and Unicron's image grew in his optics. "Got y--"

Unicron sailed deeper into the gas. Starscream lost sight of him in the blinding light.

Hands grabbed him from behind. "A noble attempt, but don't call it a failure."

"I didn't succeed." Starscream muttered, sneering at himself.

"You knew your goal and attempted to reach it--and despite not succeeding, you still attained the desired result." Unicron purred, flicking his glossa across Starscream's audio sensor. He lifted them both off the wave. Starscream hung there in Unicron's arms as devastation reigned beneath them. Gas, debris and even planets were swept into the fury.

"This is what I've done to your life, Starscream." Unicron said, gesturing below.

Starscream gazed expectantly at the spreading destruction moving away from the black hole. In its damaging wake, gas clouds glowed and churned. In a few millennia this nebula might birth a star cluster.

_I see now_...

Unicron was a wave that reawakened his interest in beauty and creation. He evoked emotions, awoke sensation and forced him to see the universe  _his_  way in all its imperfect clarity. And for all of it, he felt like he still knew so little about the giant mech. Looking to the side, he studied his godly companion's schooled expression. What was it that looked different about him? Was it always there and he just didn't notice?

"And that," Unicron faced a gas cloud excited into diffuse yellow-green luminescence, "is what you've done to mine."

There was so little light there...yet it was  _there_. A piece of space previously cold and dark now promised future heat and warmth. And it existed far enough away that the black hole wouldn't consume it.

Starscream's throat clutched and he focused his optics on Unicron's perfect face. Unicron turned his head to look back. His eyes glowed softly, alive and lifeless at the same time. Starscream didn't let his gaze waver. So many things went on behind those red optics. The deadness in his eyes silenced the life behind them, rendering its screams unheard.

"I never expected events to play out this way."

"Huh?"

Unicron chuckled humorlessly. "You weren't the only one gaining knowledge from all this. Would you like to know what I learned from you?"

Starscream frowned, "Uh...sure..."

Unicron took Starscream's face in his hands. His optics faded. Starscream froze when the god‘s face inched closer. He saw the silver lips part just a second before they touched his own. It was a slow, tender kiss that felt different from the way they kissed during sex. No tugging, no invading tongue and no fangs, just a smooth, silky warmth. Starscream remembered kissing Unicron this way when he conquered his falling phobia.

"Mm," he shut off his optics and cupped the back of Unicron's head, melting under the unusual display of tenderness. The hands on his back rubbed slowly up and down. This new caress stirred the feelings that made Starscream's mind spin. To be held and kissed this way...he wasn't used to it, and he realized he loved it. Arousal tickled his neural sensors, but it wasn't like every other time. Usually, sexual desire began as buzzing in his cone. This new sensation ran deeper...it was in his cone, yes, but it also surrounded his Spark chamber. A burning ache to merge, to see Unicron arch in pleasure and join him in something holier than life itself.

Unicron drew back and powered up his optics. His face remained expressionless--no, wait...it wasn't. There was something so subtly different that Starscream couldn't put his finger on it. The corners of Unicron's mouth looked tense and his optics squinted just slightly. Maybe it was how the light caught his cheek. Or was it his piercing gaze?

"Wow," Starscream said...because he really didn't know what  _to_  say after a kiss like that. "Um, you um...you passed."

Another soft chuckle.

Starscream frowned up at Unicron's face. Something had changed in him. His movements were different and the mocking aura around him wasn't there.

Then Unicron turned the universe upside down.

"It's time for you to go back."

It felt like someone punched Starscream in the gut. Go back? No! It was too sudden, too soon!

"Just like that? What--I'm not ready! I--"

"I have nothing more to teach you, Starscream," Unicron cut him off. "You have grown confident. You have the skills you need to assert yourself before Megatron." His thumb traced Starscream's bottom lip. "You're ready to take what you want."

The stars stopped moving...when did they start flying in the first place? Starscream glanced down to discover a familiar yellow main sequence star far below. The planets whirling around it were in the same formation as before. Starscream's jaw dropped. How was that possible? They were gone for...weeks...maybe even months! He shot a questioning look up at Unicron, and all he got in return was an amused smirk.

Your perception of time isn't the same as mine.

That was all Unicron said on the matter. Starscream shook his head. Naturally, Unicron wouldn't explain it.

He lingered with his head on Unicron's chest, his optics directed at the distant glow of the sun. How could he just drop everything and return to his cage? With Unicron, he felt more free than he ever had since the war began and now...to go back into his pain...he wanted to scream.

"I--guess I should go," said Starscream. Better to go now before his desire to stay got any worse. He wanted to thank Unicron, but didn't know how. It angered him. Maybe putting his lessons to use would be thanks enough. Yeah, that'd work. He planted his hands flat on Unicron's chest and prepared to push off.

"Starscream, wait." Unicron tightened his grip.

Starscream tilted his head back, "Yeah?"

"Yes."

"Huh?" He hated it when Unicron played these word games! "Yes what?"

"Once, when I was recharging, I heard you ask yourself if gods dream. The answer is yes."

_Oh_. Well, this was certainly awkward and unexpected. Starscream bit his lower lip. "What do you dream about?"

Rather than answer, Unicron just cupped Starscream's face in one hand. His lips stiffened into an almost-smile. It actually reached his eyes, if only for a nanosecond, before his expression morphed back to deadpan.

"Unicron?"

The hand on his cheek trembled. He took ages to speak and Starscream realized he wasn't the only one stalling. "It's time."

Starscream stared hard at the inner corner of Unicron's left eye--at the tiny, growing beads of moisture glistening gently in the dim lighting.

Everything began to make sense.

Those times he felt eyes on him, the late nights that didn't feel as lonely as they should have...this immortal being seeking him out and the naked longing in that same being's eyes that flickered like sunlight dimly shining through a crack in stone...the anguish he displayed after his recharge overload...how he spoke of Primacron with utter loathing...his knee-jerk response to Starscream's drunken advances...the way he sometimes stiffened when touched unexpectedly...the painful way he overloaded himself a short time ago...

_How could I be so blind?_

Starscream turned his head, looking at Unicron with new understanding. Unicron's face was deadpan, it always was, but his optics betrayed him. They did every single time their gazes met and he was too ignorant to see it before because he foolishly refused to believe such a being had any emotions left. But here, now, with their Sparks almost touching, he heard a silent scream of anguish ringing out from the depths of Unicron's mind. A scream all too familiar because it sounded just like his own.

His mind flashed back, grasping at a question Unicron answered shortly after they met...

"What would a god like you know about pain?"

"Enough to be its prisoner."

...and reality crystallized in a resounding crash. A flash of fire followed by thunder moving between them like a stitch linking their pasts together.

_I've figured it out. You always seemed to understand my pain_... Starscream gazed straight into the Chaos-bringer's burning optics, ... _it's because Primacron treated you the way Megatron treats me, isn't it? You know how I feel because you went through it too_.

Unicron's optics widened and his entire body went rigid. Starscream felt the arms holding him slide away. Unicron turned his back, the first time he ever so blatantly broke eye contact. His wing array tensed like long fingers that cast shadows over his form. He floated there in utter stillness. A being of stone covered in micro fractures.

Then he faced Starscream again and there was no mistaking the dewy gleam welling in both optics. His pursed lips trembled and his fists were balled, clutching at his last threads of self control, but it fell away just enough to bare his pain in all its agonizing splendor.

For that moment, that frozen heartbeat in time, the line between god and mortal ceased to exist. Starscream saw Unicron standing before him, still the same face, same body, but now he knew Unicron screamed inside just like he did. Except nobody heard Unicron. Nobody stopped or looked his way. Nobody spared a moment to worry when his screams faded to silence.

Unicron clenched his teeth and tilted his head back. His entire body shook like a naked human in snow. The moisture gathering on his optics reached a critical mass and threatened to dribble down his face.

Starscream extended both hands and used his thumbs to wipe the droplets away before they fell. "Don't you hate it when space dust makes your optics water? It gives me the shakes, too. Especially when I let it build up for so long," he mused, choosing not to directly speak of the lapse in Unicron's stoic demeanor. No matter how beautiful it was to see true emotion at last, he kept up the façade. "It's going to take more than that to get it off."

"Star _scream_..."

"I'm not leaving until I'm sure you can see where you're going."

Unicron stared at him, wide-eyed, a look of pain and relief. His intakes cycled in spasms and more tears welled up, betraying his otherwise straight face. Starscream brushed them away as they appeared. The moisture wicked off his fingers and froze solid in the cold vacuum. Unicron never made a sound. He just shook all over, gasping in short bursts through clenched teeth.

Starscream kept up the pretense until the tears stopped building. Then he leaned over, pecked the bridge of Unicron's nose and pretended to examine his optics. "There, now they're cleaner...must feel good to clean the old optics off once in awhile, don't you agree?"

"...Indeed."

Time restarted again, smoothing Unicron's vulnerable moment behind the wall of pride he built so high around himself. Only this time, Starscream stood within those same walls. He saw the real being behind them...and it bore the same scars he did.

Unicron drifted across the veil of the Milky Way, his wing array sparkling in its glow. He still consumed all the beauty of his environment. Seeing his tears didn't change the awe he inspired. Starscream thought they were beautiful--emotions were gorgeous things--and knowing that even the largest living being could still  _feel_  through his self-imposed prison made him seem less distant. Still a god, still powerful...but not out of reach.

"Your artist is showing," Unicron said. For a moment, he put his hands on his hips and flared his array, and then relaxed to his original stance. Did he just strike a pose?

Starscream bit his lip and smiled. "It's your fault."

Unicron leaned forward, letting his forehead touch Starscream's. "Starscream..." His optics were dim like the newly excited nebula they left behind. "We are one in the same."

Reaching up, Starscream cupped Unicron's face in both hands and lightly kissed his mouth. Primus and all that was holy, he didn't imagine choking up on this moment. Yet there he was, tears welling in his eyes. "Will you be okay?"

He felt Unicron's thumbs stroke his cheeks, catching his tears before they escaped. The fresh, frozen droplets mingled amidst the ones still lingering in the area.

Looking up, Unicron caught two and balanced them on his silver palm. He closed his fist, crushing them. Then he opened his fingers and stared at the glittery sheen clinging to his hand.

"Perhaps, someday," the dark god finally replied. He jerked his hand to the side and the ice dust flew off into the void.

Starscream hung his head. "I feel like such a fool."

"Why?"

"I--thought you had no emotions."

Unicron's mouth twitched, "Pain is my prison. You are the daylight that creeps under the door, a reminder that I am not alone."

Starscream clung to each nanosecond, staring through his new eyes at Unicron, at all the feeling he'd been blinded to before. Unicron's red optics had gone from deadened nothing to dynamic, sparkling ruby depths. The whole reason he saw his own reflection was because he and Unicron shared the same pain. It made him regret all those moments where he saw that pain surface and dismissed it as apathy.

"You're a metaphorical bastard, Unicron. Start writing it down. Cybertron is lacking in good poetry lately."

"I could say the same about its art." Unicron countered, faint amusement present in his tone.

Starscream snorted. "Touché."

Unicron looked away. "You should go. I can't keep the solar system out of synch forever--and don't ask, it'd take too long to explain. Let's call it phenomenal cosmic powers and leave it at that."

He smirked and dropped his illusion, then plucked Starscream off the amethyst jewel on his helm and held him on his palm. His massive optics were dim suns in the darkness.

Starscream folded himself into jet mode. He wanted to say something to Unicron. Some last words...but he couldn't think of a thing. Goodbye, maybe? No, he hated goodbyes. He settled for something lame and generic instead: "See you around."

And Unicron tossed him gently upwards as if releasing a dove.

Starscream fired his thrusters the second he left Unicron's palm. The freedom, the sheer, utter thrill, wrenched a joyous whoop from the top of his voice, and he barrel rolled as he sailed through the vacuum.

The first gate station rushed up at him faster than it shrank when he left. It was like falling, but not as terrifying. He transformed to bot mode and angled his thrusters to slow himself so he wouldn't crash. Then he looked up and his optics zoomed in on the tiny speck floating in the distance. He saw Unicron in profile against the galactic hub, a creature of majesty. The giant Transformer's legs retracted as he transformed into his alternate mode.

_...Unicron..._

Unicron's head turned. His red optics pierced the dark distance.

Remember, Starscream...the ultimate choice is yours. Choose wisely.

He finished his transformation and vanished slowly from Starscream's optic range.

.o

"Hey, Starscream! I thought you were going away."

Starscream smirked at Demolishor. Whatever Unicron did to alter the time stream, it was good enough that Starscream didn't get caught coming back to base.

He strode past Demolishor and entered the corridor with his head up high. "I did go away. Away from  _you_."

"Yeah--but Megatron doesn't like it when you go taking off without telling him first."

He rounded on the cannon-shouldered Transformer, his orange eyes burning, "What are you going to do about it, Demolishor?"

Demolishor jerked as if Starscream's glare physically pushed him backwards. He crossed his arms and cocked his head, his green optics glowing eerily in the low lighting. "I--don't want to be in the middle of your screw-ups. Megatron is gonna kill you one of these days if you don't cool it."

Ooh, it felt so good to feel powerful! Starscream almost laughed in Demolishor's blocky face.

"I want front row seats for  _that_  fight," Cyclonus said. He was leaning on the doorway to the corridor with his arms crossed. Demolishor turned to look at him. Cyclonus smirked and Demolishor bit his lip.

Starscream sighed. Demolishor was annoying enough. Now Cyclonus had to get involved. Neither of them had a clue what he went through, what humiliation Megatron made him suffer and the mask he had to wear. At least he'd take that mask off and throw it down soon. Maybe not tonight or tomorrow...but soon.

"What have we here?" purred a low voice. Starscream looked over at the purple and silver form of Sideways. He was a liquid shadow who seemed to flow around corners. "Starscream has a lot to think about. Let him be."

"Aw, c'mon! We were just teasing," Cyclonus complained.

"We still have to finish that warp gate recheck. Megatron's mad that's acting up again. Let's go, Cyclonus!" Demolishor said, though he appeared reluctant to leave. He did eventually with the ever-complaining Cyclonus hot on his heels.

Sideways stayed in the doorway until they left. Then he uncrossed his arms and strolled up to Starscream, intentionally invading his personal space. Starscream sneered and stared into Sideways' cold optics. This caused the purple Transformer to chuckle.

"Unicron taught you well."

"Huh? How do you--"

"It's my business to know." Sideways said. "Just like I know what that coward Megatron does to you."

"What? Why you..." Starscream pulled out his wing blade, pressed it to Sideways' throat and snarled, "You better not tell anyone!" He pronounced each word like acid, his threat very real, "Or I swear, I'll hunt you down and slice you to pieces! What happens between me and Megatron is  _my_  business, not yours! You got that?"

Sideways slid his finger across the blade like a caress. Pushing it away, he got nose to face-shield with Starscream. His eyes tilted to indicate he smiled behind his mask. "Starscream, I hope you succeed."

"This is  _none_  of your business!"

"I've seen what he does." said Sideways. His optics flickered with...sympathy?

"And you didn't try to stop him?" Starscream tightened his grip on his blade as fury spread like fire across his circuitry. Controlling himself took monumental effort. Like beating down a tornado. In a strangled tone that grated off his vocal processors, he whispered, "You didn't stop it..."

"No. But  _you_  will, and I'll know when it's happening." Sideways held Starscream's eyes as he brushed past him.

Starscream slid his blade back into place above his shoulder and resolved himself to silence. He sat down in front of the wall monitor and flipped it on. Sometimes he ran across interesting transmissions from Earth that took his mind off his troubles. One of his favorites was a human cartoon with a cynical robot who consumed alcohol as fuel.

"...what an awful dream! Ones and zeroes everywhere...and I thought I saw a two..."

_"Don't worry, Bender, there's no such thing as two."_

Starscream snorted and shook his head.

Footsteps banged through the doorway.

Without turning around, Starscream grumbled, "Demolishor! Get back to your post!"

"And when are you going to go back to yours?" purred a voice the Seeker didn't expect.

Starscream leapt up and whirled to face Megatron. "Sir!"

Megatron's face remained impassive. His red optics glared menacingly, bearing down so much that Starscream barely managed not to look away.

"Well?"

It was too soon. He hadn't even tucked his experience away in his memory yet. His mind blanked out and stretched with nothing to grasp onto.

"I--" Starscream fought down the familiar dread trying to surface. Megatron didn't have that sexual gleam in his eye, so at least he knew he wasn't going to suffer  _that_ humiliation right now. He hardened his expression, "I was just preparing to go."

Those red eyes continued their unfaltering gaze. So empty, like ice. "Good. Get to it."

Starscream returned the stare. He imagined his gaze alone had the power to shove Megatron back out the doorway. They stood there for over a minute, just looking each other square in the optics. Starscream used the moment to admire his terrible master--his handsome mouth and how the light caught his optics. He was so  _dark_  compared to Unicron's brilliant golden armor. It was sad, really, that such good looks were wasted on his hideous personality.

Finally, Megatron growled and stepped aside from the doorway. In doing so, he dropped his gaze.

_Yes!_  Triumph nearly made Starscream cry out. That was too easy. He bit his lip to hide his smirk and brushed past the taller Cybertronian. "As you command, Megatron."

As he passed Megatron, he felt a hand touch his aft. The touch halted him briefly in his tracks. His confidence rattled like the loose contents of an overfull crate. Burning hatred crackled across his optics and it took everything in his power not to pull his wing blade and run his leader through right there in the hall.

"I have duties to attend to," he said flatly, showing no reaction the unwanted grope.

"Yes, Starscream. Go do them."

Starscream walked away less confident than he was a moment ago. He forgot to keep his back straight as he trudged along. Heat from his leader's optics stabbed his back until he turned the corner, and only then did the stinging sensation fade.

_You win THIS time, Megatron. But just you wait...you'll get yours_.

.o

Stare-downs between Starscream and Megatron became a daily occurrence. Megatron, now suspicious of his loyalty, started to watch him more closely. Starscream felt his eyes on him everywhere like a blowtorch against his metal body. He couldn't very well drop everything to meet that cold stare every second of every day--Unicron didn't teach him to do that anyway. Staring matches were reserved for face to face encounters.

...and the scariest came after a failed attempt to capture another Mini-Con. The mission failed because Cyclonus and Demolishor warped to the wrong coordinates. Megatron sent Starscream after them--and when he arrived he found them already engaging the Autobots. He took a shot to the side in all the confusion. The wound didn't seem too bad until Hot Shot knocked Cyclonus against the injury. Something severed and he went down.

Starscream didn't remember returning to base. He came back online in the repair bay to Megatron's icy eyes boring down on him. Backlit as he was by the harsh overhead lights, he looked like a malevolent nightmare creature. Briefly, Starscream wondered what he found attractive about his leader in the first place--because now he didn't see it anymore. Yes, he was a good-looking bot, but his scowl twisted away any beauty he possessed.

"Nice to see you're finally awake." Megatron said acidly.

"Where are--"

"They were already debriefed. You failed to retrieve the Mini-Con. You would have taken it had you not typed in the wrong coordinates," he slapped his hand down on the table, just inches from Starscream's hip. The nearness of his fingers made Starscream's circuits tingle, and not in a pleasant way. "It makes me question your loyalty. _Again_."

Starscream wanted to crawl out of his metal skin. He pushed himself to sit and scooted away from Megatron's hand, grimacing at his still-sore side. He resisted the urge to cradle the wound.

"We--were pinned down," Starscream said through gritted teeth.

"It's not like you to go down this easy, Starscream. Your Spark wasn't in the fight this time. You were distracted. Care to tell me why?"

"What--of course my Spark was in it! Why would I lose on purpose?"

Megatron's expression remained unreadable, his voice a low rumble, "You know what your problem is? You don't know where your loyalties lie." He came closer, his lips hot against Starscream's audio input relay. "You listen too much to your conscience. You've become weak."

Another pang shot up Starscream's side, or was it his Spark that ached this time? Megatron stared daggers at the side of his head. Starscream finally turned to glower back, lips pursed in a line. He could remember the days when he joined Megatron's army. Back then--a long time ago--he would have thrown himself into a sun at his leader's command. Megatron was a god to him at first. Handsome, imposing and--most of all--powerful. Everyone regarded Megatron with the utmost respect. Starscream used to tell himself he wanted to be like that someday.

Starscream couldn't recall when he began to doubt his place in the war. Was it the time he saw Megatron destroy a base of Autobots just coming online for the first time? Perhaps it was the way Megatron treated the weak with contempt. Or maybe it was the humans. They were...kind...to him, especially Alexis. He forced himself not to think of her. She probably hated him now. They all did. He'd betrayed their trust, shattered it with his treachery. And the only person he could turn to was probably in another galaxy by now, eating a planet.

_Heh, Unicron..._  Starscream felt his lips twitch into a smirk. In his mind, clear as day, he could picture Unicron sitting in Megatron's throne. His memory flicked to that last, gentle kiss and how his insides clenched. If he searched deep enough he'd realize that he did feel something towards the giant god. Was it love, lust or infatuation? Hard to say for sure...he just knew he wished he could repeat their parting kiss again, or--

Sudden pain startled him out of his thoughts. He clutched the side of his head and turned instinctively to glare at the source. His orange optics met Megatron's seething red ones.

"Seems you still need some straightening out. You will meet me in the throne room tomorrow. It's going to hurt and it will continue to hurt until you become obedient again. Don't make me come looking for you,  _pet_. Am I clear?"

The words sent a chill down Starscream's back. It seemed too soon! What if his wound wasn't repaired in time? What if Megatron attacked the wound, rendering him helpless?

Starscream held Megatron's gaze, his expression neutral. His stare gradually hardened. No, no more doubting. Tomorrow night, Megatron would be the one lying on his back, panting and desperate for completion. Pain didn't matter--pain was weakness leaving the body. Only death would conquer him. He still had the right to choose his fate so long as energon flowed through his body.

Megatron's gaze remained unwavering. He sneered and quickly got up. Starscream kept watching him as if his optics alone would melt his leader into slag. If looks could kill, Megatron would have died a thousand times right there. All the hate and contempt Unicron made him feel began to well up through his circuits. Starscream remembered how the hatred excited Unicron. To his complete shock, he realized it was turning him on, too.

"You've become insolent."

Megatron backhanded Starscream in a flash of motion. The light followed his purple fingers like glowing blades. Starscream moved with the blow and immediately returned his gaze to his leader's optics. He felt like a cord wrapped itself around his head and forced his back straight. The tightening spread down his throat, across his chassis and into his fingers, which twitched. Megatron's stare scrutinized his every feature, tearing him apart layer by layer, circuit by circuit until nothing remained. That's what he was in his leaders eyes:  _nothing_. No act, no sin and no amount of pleading would ever change that. His life had no value.

Starscream expected the realization to hurt. He waited for it.

Nothing. Not a twinge. No guilt, nothing.

...you are even better looking than he is. He's jealous of that, Starscream.

_Your presence has always posed a threat to him. You have what he wants. He can't have that, so he doesn't want you to have it either_...

"And still you look at me like some lovesick rodent." Loathing flared across Megatron's face. It was in the light catching his fangs and the sneer curling his lips.

Starscream almost laughed in his face. He remembered how Unicron said he tended to broadcast his emotions. It must be true if Megatron noticed a change in his expression, however subtle.

Megatron huffed contemptuously before turning and exiting the medical bay. His slamming footsteps slowly faded down the corridor. The tension abated with the closing of the doors.

Starscream clutched his sore jaw and laid back on the table. He shook all over, his wings rattling against the tabletop. That had been one of the scariest moments of his life. Being defiant behind Megatron's back was one thing--being this defiant to his face was another. Knowing he did it here planted a seed of confidence in the back of his mind. Maybe this small victory would lead to the big one tomorrow night.

He smiled and let his optics go dark.


	7. 7

Daylight on the moon was stark in its coldness. Starscream awoke to a beautiful blue crescent Earth drifting just below the white pearl sun. Framed by a jagged window, it looked like something he painted millennia ago. Starscream saved the image to his mainframe for later use and reached for the molecular scanner by the table. The black device resembled a human's TV remote with a screen on the back. He scanned his injury and examined the results. It showed an X-ray of the wound, letting him see the components beneath his armor. By the looks of it the repairs done on his damaged coolant lines were holding up nicely. Flickering lights informed him that he still had micro fractures in his fuel tank outlet pipe. Luckily they didn't penetrate all the way through, but they were annoying. Fuel tank outlet pipes were braided metal built to flex around inside the body. Micro fractures felt like a rodent gnawing his wiring. Replacing the pipe stopped the pain. Trouble was, there were no spares. His only option was to wait for his internal systems to repair it...and that could take weeks since it was a moving part.

"Just my luck," Starscream muttered, sullenly tossing the scanner back on the shelf.

A hiss signaled the door opening. Starscream pushed himself up onto his elbows, anticipating Megatron. He was genuinely surprised when Sideways strolled into the room. In one hand he carried a jar of wax polish and in the other, a pair of hand-held circular applicators.

"Relax," said Sideways. He held up the objects in his hands. "I know what's about to go down tonight. I figured, you might want to look good when you do it."

Starscream squinted his orange optics. Sideways always came across as a slimy creep who took delight in escalating conflicts. So why was he here now?

"Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?" Starscream snapped.

Sideways approached the table. He plopped the wax jar on the shelf and unscrewed the lid. "What Megatron does to you is disgusting even by my standards. He's breaking ancient Cybertronian laws by using sex as punishment...but I'm sure Unicron got you over the sense of shame." Pointedly, he gave the buffers a test spin. They were shaped like pistols with the fuzzy gray applicator pads attached to the barrels. "Megatron won't be happy that I stole his favorite waxing toys. Now, turn over so I can do your back first."

Starscream bit back a laugh...for a moment his mind flashed back to Alexis waxing the Mini-Cons--she called it "pampering", much to the disgust of the human males.

It  _had_  been a long time since he had a good waxing. And after everything he went through he felt like he deserved a little of this..."pampering".

"Fine." He shifted to rest on his belly, keeping his thermal sensors trained on Sideways' weapons.

The buffers whirred to life. Starscream shivered as their whirling softness contacted the middle of his back. Just about every bot who got a wax ended up overloading from it because it felt so sinfully  _good_. He resisted another snicker--the humans were once curious about the Mini-Cons and how they shivered and sang during a wax job. If only they knew...

"So," Sideways worked his way up the underside of Starscream's engine nozzles, "Did you enjoy your stay with Unicron?"

Unicron's name made Starscream's Spark pulse faster. He found it strange how different the world looked since he met the giant god. Everything felt alive.

"We got along," he said smoothly. Then he sighed as the spinning buffers moved across his wings, bringing forth the familiar tingle down in the tip of his cone. He tilted shamelessly into the sensation and Sideways pressed harder--a sign that he knew exactly what he was doing.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Mh, not really. Let's just say I have a new perspective on where I stand in all this mess...and him."

Sideways trailed the buffers down the length of his wings and back, lingering on the outer tips. Starscream, his mind still on Unicron, arched into it and moaned. Sideways chuckled at this and shifted to wax Starscream's backside and legs. "You're thinking about him."

Every spin of the buffers flowed straight through the Seeker‘s neural net.

"I'm--"

"You think I can't sense you fantasizing? C'mon...go ahead. I'll wax you all the way. Just enjoy it." As he spoke, Sideways tapped the table to make Starscream turn over. Starscream did so carefully, trying not to excite pain from his damaged piping. Grooves accommodated the engine parts jutting off his back and allowed him to lie flat.

Starscream's optics lost focus once the buffers touched his wings again. He felt Sideways spend extra time on them before moving down each arm. Then the soft spinning pads rolled over his chassis and down his legs...and back up across his cone and-- _oh_ \--he gripped the table. Tantalizing softness vibrated across the place he ached the most.

"I always thought your cone was neat," whispered Sideways. He rested the buffers against either side of it and dialed up their rotation rate.

"Unh!" Starscream bit his lower lip and arched his back. It felt  _just_  like the time Unicron took his cone into his mouth. He caressed the table's edge, his own sides and the edges of his cockpit. Tingling warmth followed his fingertips to his throat and spiraled down to join the electricity brewing between his legs. His body was meant to feel like this. "Ooh, right there..."

If Sideways said anything, Starscream didn't hear it. His mind kept imagining Unicron holding him from behind, watching Sideways pleasure him. That fantasy dissolved to Unicron on top of him, bending down for a kiss. And from  _that_  one came the most beautiful yet--Unicron's chest opening and baring his Spark. It was so real that Starscream exposed his own Spark and arched up, aching to bond.

_I love him..._

Tears welled in Starscream's eyes as he finally put words to everything he felt. When the universe didn't collapse and explode in his face, he opened himself fully to what he'd been running from. He let the emotion catch up and wrap around him, holding him in a safe embrace.

... _my Spark calls to no one else_...

Realization brought forth a new level of desire. Something potent and sacred. Starscream flinched as he touched his Spark chamber. Love--the ultimate arousal. It sent sparks spitting off his cone and chamber. He pretended it was Unicron's hand on him, and after only two strokes he lost himself to electric bliss. Both his mind and body cried out to Unicron, and on the very edge of his consciousness, far within the gray space between dreams and the waking world, he swore he heard Unicron's voice whisper his name.

Then his overload tapered away. His fantasy faded, dimming like the fading glow of his Spark chamber retreating back under his cockpit.

Sideways moaned--a very sexy sound, Starscream noted--and pulled the buffers away. "You sure live up to your name when you go off. Heh, I overloaded just  _watching_ you. That was  _sexy_!"

"Shut up," Starscream sighed as he collected himself. He reached out blindly to grab Sideways' arm, causing him to drop the waxing tools. The loose items clattered to the floor and shut off. When they fell, Starscream flashed back to the nebula eating black hole Unicron showed him. He remembered the star that escaped, free of the constraints that held it to its prison. "If I live past tonight, I'm leaving."

"Leaving? Ah," Sideways placed his free hand on the top of Starscream's head and bent down. His energon-purple eyes glimmered eerily in the harsh lighting, searching. Whatever it was, he seemed to find it. "I can contact him if you want."

"You what?"

"Starscream, how do you think Unicron even  _knew_  about you? You could call me his remote eyes and ears. He created me solely to survey his Mini-Cons...first I scoped out the Autobots, but they're always clean. This side not so much. He wants me to make sure none of them are--uh--used as sex toys. Anyway, a couple million years ago I happened to be in the area the day you were painting in the middle of Cybertron city. I've been your shadow ever since, Starscream. I...heh," Sideways sat on the table's edge, "Okay, what I'm about to say is going to piss you off, but it has to come out. I instigated a lot of the hostility between you and Megatron."

"You  _what?_ " Starscream sat bolt upright, a mistake that made his damaged fuel pipe scream in protest. He clutched his midsection and growled. "Why? I've been through slag because of you!"

"I was hoping you'd rise up and act!" Sideways shot back. His amethyst eyes dimmed, "Unicron stepped in when he realized the damage Megatron was doing to you. And, yes, I know what Unicron went through. The things Primacron did to him make what you're going through seem gentle by comparison--BUT that doesn't make your experience any less painful. At the rate things were going...let's just say I'm glad Unicron caught you when he did."

Starscream opened his mouth, looked away and closed it again. He trembled at the memory of Unicron's tears, at the pain in his eyes.

"Starscream, do you realize you saved Unicron's life?"

"W-what?"

"It's true." Sideways nodded. "He tried to kill himself."

Starscream tensed as panic clutched his throat.

Sideways leaned forward again, gazing directly into his eyes. "One day, I stopped to watch you paint that mural in the middle of Cybertron--"

"The red nebula?"

"Bingo. He was literally in the act of killing himself--seconds from severing contact with me--and then, through me, he saw you twirling around like the whole world was music. Seeing that made him feel something besides pain...so he watched you. He has a copy of all your art in his databanks. Everything you've done, even the most obscure, he has it. Schematics, murals, portraits...everything."

Again, Sideways paused to let it all sink in. Starscream needed the moment--he never imagined his art actually saving someone's life. And to think he almost let that part of him die.

Rather than acknowledge it, Starscream looked down at his hands, "Does he have a favorite?"

"Your self portrait."

"Very funny..."

"I'm serious."

Starscream looked out the window. He knew which picture Sideways was talking about--he once painted himself in profile, flying with one hand outstretched towards the stars. He was blue and gray with a red trim in the picture, the colors he possessed before Megatron had him reformatted. Sometimes he missed having a vermillion face and silver eyes that reflected everything he saw...

The picture never felt complete to him--in it, his other hand was just kind of out in front of him, purposeless and empty.

" _Freedom_..."

"Yeah. That one."

"I never finished it."

"Unicron loves it anyway. In his words, 'all of my life, I have never seen someone so taken by the sky.'"

A rush of tears welled in Starscream's optics. "I-I didn't think I'd ever see myself like that again." He covered his face, "Unicron made me remember who I used to be. He looks at a nebula and just sees a cloud of gas...when I look at it I see color, shape, possibilities..."

Sideways' hand rested lightly on his arm, "The liberator ended up liberated. Funny how that works."

"Yeah," Starscream chuckled. He had so much food for thought, but he feared letting himself think too deeply when he still didn't know whether or not he'd survive the night. "Sideways, does he love me?"

Without answering, Sideways slid off his perch and gathered up the items he brought in. He paused at the door and glanced back. His eyes tilted in a mouth-less smile.

"I should get this junk back before Megatron wakes up. See you later."

"Hey! What about--"

The door hissed shut between them.

Starscream saw his reflection when the door closed. His armor looked shiny and new...he shimmered like Unicron. He faced the window, gazing out into the unknown that rolled into eternity.

_I don't know if you can hear me, Unicron...but I want you to know that I made my choice._ He touched his lips as though holding onto a kiss. _It's you_.

.o

"Primus, that's your third tube!"

Starscream unscrewed the oil tube lid. He held the tube over his mouth and squeezed, letting the thickened substance dribble onto his tongue like honey. Cyclonus had been watching him with hungry optics the entire time. He tried to hide it, but Cyclonus and subtle were oxymorons--and Starscream enjoyed the effect he was having on the orange faced helicopter.

Come to think of it, he was enjoying the freedom of not caring what others thought of him.

"Mm, delicious. Grade-A..." a dark trickle rolled down his chin, wiped up by his fingertips.

Cyclonus turned away, groaning. "Starscream, knock it off!"

"You're such a Sparkling!" Starscream scoffed. He squirted the last dribble of oil halfway across the room, watching it splatter on Cyclonus' orange cheek. Before Cyclonus could move, Starscream had him pinned sideways against the wall by the door. "This is what you want, isn't it?" He stuck out his glossa and licked up the oil. No point in wasting it. He trailed his tongue across the jagged edge of Cyclonus' cheekbone. "Isn't this something you fantasize about late at night?"

"W-what're you talking about?"

His tongue made another pass. "You say my name when you get yourself off."

As predicted, Cyclonus heated right up. Starscream knew by how the normally loud-mouthed mech went quiet.

"Everybody thinks I'm a whore around here." Starscream grinned. He was enjoying this immensely, remembering how it felt to spread himself out across Unicron's lap. "You know, maybe I shouldn't escalate this. I might  _fail_  to live up to whatever sick fantasies you probably have."

Cyclonus chewed his bottom lip. His lips were almost ridiculously pouty, yet had the ability to thin completely away when he broke into his wild, trigger happy grin.

"You're freakin' me out, Starscream."

"Am I? You look pretty horny to me."

Was this how Unicron felt when they first met? This sense of power, knowing he had another being turned into mush at his fingertips?

Starscream let his hand slither across Cyclonus' hip. Cyclonus moaned and melted into the touch, having absolutely no control of his arousal.

"Starscream," he whimpered, "Why?"

Pushing him harder against the wall, Starscream found the panel release and shoved his fingers down into the tangled wires. Cyclonus was tight inside, all of his wiring wrapped in a bundle around a coolant line. Starscream hooked two fingers underneath them and the helicopter arched with a mewling cry.

"W-why?"

Starscream hissed in his audio sensor, "Sometimes, it's better to enjoy instead of asking questions."

"But..."

"Unless you want me to stop, shut up."

Cyclonus clenched his jaw. When he did that, his face morphing into someone lost in desire, Starscream realized there was beauty even in him.

Somehow, Starscream's touch transfigured the clumsy mech from average to something remarkable. Suddenly he could turn his head in ways that made light dance on his angular features. Once it found him it stayed like glue, following every sensual twist of his neck. Nobody knew what a jewel they were missing because they never brushed off the dirt.

A little of Starscream's mocking air deflated. How could Cyclonus know what he went through under Megatron? He didn't, because under normal circumstances he wasn't what most considered attractive or desirable. Because of his looks people always labeled him a verminous buffoon.

All this time he'd been judging the helicopter mech as disgusting with no real reason to. So what if Cyclonus fantasized about him?

_It's not like I've never had fantasies before. I...lived one_.

"Ow..." Cyclonus made a pained noise that wasn't really pain. He puckered his mouth and panted, sounding just like he did while pleasuring himself. "Ow, ow, ow...Starscream..."

"Shh, it's okay." Starscream wrapped his arm around Cyclonus' neck, stroking his lips with his fingertips. His other hand rolled the wiring in the helicopter's access panel around. Cyclonus kept gasping and cooing, trying desperately to stay quiet. Static discharges crackled as Starscream fingered the motherboard the wires were attached to. Cyclonus bucked like a loose power cable on the fritz. Aha, his sweet spot...Starscream traced it slowly, following the ring of solder. Each stroke caused a shock until the current became continuous.

"Umph!" Cyclonus shrieked, grabbing Starscream's shoulders. His normally green optics glowed a lime hue, brilliant on his orange features. Spasms wracked his frame. "S-Starscream, I'm gonna...over--OH...I'm--UH!"

"You're gonna what, Cyclonus?" the Seeker squeezed the wires and dragged his fingers across the solder ridge. "Overload?"

Cyclonus' face shimmered, " _STARSC-MMPH!_ "

Starscream jerked Cyclonus' face up. Their lip lock muffled Cyclonus' orgasmic cries into soft hums and groans. Primus, he sounded so different. Starscream kept twirling his wires to hear more of those sounds. Cyclonus didn't know how to kiss  _at all_ \--his big, soft lips just groped around, hoping to latch on. Starscream ran his tongue all along his flat molars and the smooth roof of his mouth. He tasted like the tangy energon he just consumed.

Fingertips touched his cheeks, the only response Cyclonus could offer, and Starscream knew he was giving him his first true kiss. To share it in the middle of an overload offered by a person he fantasized about...Starscream became suddenly conscious of the gift he had bestowed.

And after that, he realized how unashamed he felt. He wasn't sorry for doing it, for giving someone else just one blissful moment like the many he experienced. It was like having fire in his hands and everyone around him held a candle. Why keep this wonderful, warm, guiding light to himself when he could make it brighter by sharing it? How many beings out there in the universe were lost and in the dark? If he could just send them an ember, a tiny fraction of this feeling...

"Oof," Cyclonus relaxed and panted against Starscream's mouth. He placed a hand on the Seeker's cockpit, stroking it. Too much for comfort. Starscream stepped away.

"I-I'm sorry," Cyclonus gasped. "I didn't mean to--I-I just--I--"

"No, it's not that." Starscream sighed. "You're better off leaving  _that_  part for your fantasies. To keep yourself guessing."

"Oh." He shuddered, leaning back against the wall.

Starscream couldn't believe it. He expected to feel disgusted and dirty by this experience, so it surprised him to realize he was happy instead. The same joy he felt when he painted, or just being around Unicron.

Where was all of this feeling coming from? Love? Was love making him do this?

"Someday, you'll meet someone who always sees you the way you looked when I held you."

His words obviously touched on Cyclonus' biggest insecurity. Cyclonus shoved him away and stood up straight, hugging himself, his bulky body still trembling from his orgasm.

"I wasn't always like this!" Cyclonus snapped. "I used to be thin like you! I worked in a search and rescue team. I could shoot a zip line into the tiniest hole and drag somebody out. Megatron said I'd be great for his army with aim like that--so I signed up. I figured he'd need somebody who could get injured men out of tight spots. Wasn't what I thought--I woke up reprogrammed and reformatted...I went from helping people to hurting them." He hung his head and snorted, "Laughing's my way to numb it. It's never funny, but I go crazy if I don't laugh. Guess that makes me less perfect now, eh?"

"I'm not here to judge you." Starscream said, averting his eyes. How strange it was to realize how wrong he'd been about Cyclonus. They were two asteroids swept into orbit around the black hole of the war.

"Yeah, but nobody loves a blocky, screechy freak like me. Doesn't matter how perfect I make myself."

Smiling, Starscream replied, "Love is seeing an imperfect person perfectly."

"Eh?" Cyclonus looked up through misty optics. "Where'd you get all this deep stuff from?"

"Someone changed how I see the world, Cyclonus." Starscream tilted his head back and sighed, aching for the day to hurry up and end. "So what if you aren't svelte like me? Our bodies are just shells. Your looks or your voice or how loud you snore...they don't matter if someone loves you. They might even be endearing to the right person simply because they're what make you into  _you_. Which is why I think you should look Demolishor up sometime.  _He_  seems to show interest in you."

"Demolishor? Yeah, right!"

Starscream laughed. "You think I'm joking? I've heard him self-serving enough times to know what name he says, and it isn't mine or Megatron's."

"But Demolishor, he's my best pal...I mean sometimes he looks at me funny, but..."

"He stares because he thinks you're attractive, idiot," Starscream growled, "That's another thing I've learned about love--it's scary, it's like falling into a hole and you don't know where in the Pit you're gonna land. If you miss and hit the bottom, yes, it hurts. But, Cyclonus," he started to grin when he realized how much like Unicron he sounded, "what if there  _is_  no ground?"

"That doesn't make sense!"

The Seeker chuckled and crossed his arms across his chest, "It will when you take the plunge. Trust me. And if you don't take it, I'm going to push you. You'll thank me for it later."

"That makes me feel soooooo much better." Cyclonus curled his lips in frustration. He closed his access port, cleared his voice processors and changed the subject. "What's this whore thing--"

"It's a half-truth and let's leave it at that. I've been in a trench ever since I joined Megatron's army. Then I met somebody that tossed up a lifeline."

"Don't'cha mean down?"

"No...up. He's fallen even deeper in than I have." Memories of frozen tears, the unheard pleas of a prisoner in disguise, flashed across his mind. "I just hope what I have to do tonight will pull us both out."

And Cyclonus stared at him like he grew an aft on his forehead. "Yeah, who's this mystery bot?"

"I'll leave that to your imagination."

"Aw, c'mon!"

Grinning, Starscream snagged another oil tube--his last one, he told himself--and tried not to moan at how it coated his glossa. Oil was like chocolate to him, except he could pour it on anything and it tasted great.

Footsteps pounded a cadence in the corridor. Their source rounded the corner. Cyclonus tried to edge out of sight. Starscream wouldn't let him. He slapped a container of grease cookies into Cyclonus' hand-- "Just let go and fall." --and shoved him forward.

"Hey!" Cyclonus squeaked, stumbling until he bumped into Demolishor.

"Watch it!" groused the tank. He winced at being pinned between Cyclonus and the wall. Somehow, Cyclonus landed in a way that brought them face to face. It took Demolishor a moment to notice just how close their faces were. "You friggin' clumsy--"

Cyclonus kissed him. No pretense, no small talk.

Demolishor melted. Neither knew how to kiss, but it didn't matter once they relaxed and let it happen.

Cyclonus drew back and held up one cookie--similar to the human "Oreo"--except it consisted of engine grease sandwiched between two rust wafers. They were Demolishor's favorite treat. "Cookie?"

Starscream watched Demolishor's optics shift between the cookie and the bot holding it. The tank's shocked expression softened as a light imperceptible to someone not in love flickered across his face. He took the treat without breaking eye contact.

"So, um...uhh..."

Giggling, Cyclonus leaned against Demolishor, who did absolutely nothing to push him away. The tank couldn‘t be more obvious without running down the halls screaming it.

"Wanna take a walk?" asked Cyclonus, and Demolishor's face lit up.

Starscream slipped out of the storage room. His Spark felt huge and hot in its chamber. Sharing what he learned felt so  _good_...

Demolishor and Cyclonus walked by on their way back to their posts. They were shoulder to shoulder and smiling at each other--and Cyclonus grinned at Starscream as they passed. He looked so happy he glowed.

.o

The next six hours dragged by Starscream. He tried to keep busy--but that proved hard to do on his day of rest and recreation. Everyone on the base took one once a week. Even Megatron took a day off--he usually spent it sleeping and Primus have mercy on whoever bothered him with anything less than a life or death emergency.

Starscream's recreation day coincided with Megatron's.

So it shouldn't have surprised him when he spotted Megatron asleep in his throne room. Leader One, Megatron's Mini-Con, sat perched on a shelf by the door. Swindle lay stretched out beside him and they beeped softly to each other.

Seeing the Mini-Cons softened Starscream's expression. He recalled how Unicron talked about them--his children, his creations.

He gazed past them at Megatron, who sat back with his chin down, completely insensate to the world outside his mind. Light from the sun came through cracks in the ceiling and illuminated his face.

Primus, Megatron could be so horrible--but in slumber he was  _beautiful_. His round lips had parted enough to reveal the tips of his fangs. No frown created unflattering wrinkles around his optics. The way his head slumped caused his throat to bend in an almost delicate shape.

_And you make yourself so ugly to others...Megatron, I could have loved you if you just came to me like this_. Starscream chewed on his bottom lip. If he wanted to, he could draw his wing blade and strike his leader down. He even entertained the idea.

In the end, his own personal code won out. No killing an opponent who couldn't fight back.

Megatron twitched. His expression grew troubled, shadowed, and his offline optics shifted behind the red glass. He was dreaming, and not pleasantly by the look of it.

Starscream shook his head and motioned for the Mini-Cons to follow him. He led them around the corner, turned and knelt, looking them in the eyes.

"I'm giving you a choice," he said.

Swindle and Leader One exchanged puzzled looks.

"Megatron and I are going to have...issues...in a few hours. If I survive, I'm going to leave this place and look for Unicron."

The tiny bots clutched each other like two frightened mice.

Starscream hung his head. "Look, I'm not going to make you come along. But...I could send you to Earth. You're the reason this war is going on, and if you stand up and show your refusal to be tools, it might just end it. So I leave it up to you two--talk to the others if you want. But in the end, you can follow me or go to Earth. Whichever you choose is fine by me."

At the name, Leader One shook his fists in the air and sang a sad melody. Swindle translated, telling Starscream that Leader One wanted to know why Unicron turned on them.

_Wait...hold on...they left and Unicron never tried to explain what happened? Oh, Primus and all that's holy, he probably thought he deserved to be abandoned!_

"No! No, you guys, it was all an accident!"

Swindle translated for Leader One again. He said there was no way of knowing that--Unicron made no attempt to explain himself or stop their departure.

They knew nothing of his past or how he suffered when they left. Starscream was sure that, had they known, their reaction wouldn't be so downright cold.

They chose Earth. No discussion, no hesitation.

"Fine then," Starscream sighed. It made him ache even more--what a gift it would have been for him to reunite Unicron with his children. "Tell the other Mini-Cons my plan. You can warp to the first gate station with me. From there, you'll have an unopposed warp to Earth."

Leader One nodded, grabbed Swindle's arm and they raced down the hall.

Starscream straightened and cast a withering look at the door to Megatron's throne room.

Two hours stood between himself and destiny.

.o

It was Sideways that came to Starscream's quarters with Megatron's orders. Up until that moment, Starscream had been hacking away at flying targets, trying not to think about the inevitable.

"This is it."

Starscream slipped his wing blade back into its housing. The exercises he performed let him assess how well he could move with his internal injury, and he discovered to his satisfaction that the pain didn't hamper his mobility.

"Scared?"

"Yeah, right," scoffed Starscream, trying not to sound nervous. Inwardly, he tried hard not to let niggling thoughts of failure eat at his consciousness. Even with all the strength he now had, he still had to push away his old habits. They threatened him from the dusty past like eyes boring into his confidence. "I just want to get this over with."

Sideways' purple optics glimmered, "So what are you waiting for?"

"I'm going to be late," the Seeker grinned, "Megatron  _hates_  it when I'm late."

"Ah," Sideways chuckled, "Defiant even before you walk in. Good move."

Starscream leaned back, closing himself into memories of Unicron's touch. He forgot about Sideways as his hands traced the edge of his cone. His body reacted immediately, spreading heat across his circuits. Perverted, nasty thoughts flashed over his mind--visions of Megatron in various states of anguish and arousal.

"Mm, yes...there we go..." he said to himself. He shut his cone sensors off and relished the numbness. His body was numb, but his mind remained aroused just enough to be nasty.

_I'm going to do this. Megatron, your game is over! After all these years...payback! I hope you like your revenge cold_.

Five minutes later--after dawdling just long enough to annoy Megatron--Starscream and Sideways made their way to the throne room. Neither spoke on the way, though Starscream noticed Sideways shooting him sidelong glances.

They stopped by the closed door.

Starscream balled his fists. "Guess this is it."

"I'll be right here," whispered Sideways.

Starscream cycled a cleansing sigh that flowed from his lips to his feet. He had just exhaled when the door growled open. Red eyes pinned him, deep, dynamic and hateful.

"You're late," sneered Megatron.

"Oh, forgive me, Megatron," said Starscream, his tone completely mocking. He never took his eyes off his leader's. "I was so busy that I almost forgot to add you into my schedule."

Megatron's optics narrowed. If looks could kill. "Inside, now."

Starscream felt an invisible string holding his back straighter than a pole. He strolled past Megatron, though he didn't turn his back to him, and smirked as the door flaps clicked shut.

"Get on your knees," Megatron rasped, pointing to the floor. He'd used a low, commanding tone that wasn't intentionally sexy.

Months ago, Starscream would have obeyed immediately--and grudgingly, hating himself for it later--just to get back into his master's favor. Because that younger version of him believed that was all the worth he held. Now he knew otherwise. His feelings, dreams and talents  _mattered_  to this universe.

Megatron was the one in the wrong. He chose to blind himself to these facts out of petty jealousy. He chose to make himself bigger by preying upon someone who once respected him.

Starscream gazed across the space separating himself from Megatron. The room was dark except for a few dim lights. Shadows of hunger caressed the Decepticon leader's silver, green and purple form. He'd set his mouth in a tight line, waiting for compliance.

_What did I see in him? His looks...the shell he uses to hide how ugly he is inside? He--was a god to me at first._ Starscream's optics wandered to Megatron's round, soft lips and the gleaming fangs starting to peek out from underneath.

_He flashed me a smile and I was lost...I joined his army and followed him like a good little Decepticon, and for what? This whole war benefits nothing other than his lust for power! He lives on conflict like humans live on oxygen. I can't believe I didn't see that when I signed up...no...all I could see was him. I should have walked away...but then I never would've met Unicron...I wouldn't feel the love I feel now. Oh, Megatron, I pity you..._  his expression saddened slightly,  _you will never know this feeling. You're so closed off._

He tightened his mouth, gathering himself,  _But all of that is no excuse for the hell I went through. Megatron, I won't take your slag anymore. I'm making my stand NOW_.

Megatron snarled and pointed to the floor at his feet. "Are you deaf? Get down on your knees!"

Starscream looked straight into Megatron's optics. His new power exploded in the form of a single, defiant word.

"No."


	8. 8

Megatron arched an optic ridge and his velvet voice became a razor's edge, "Excuse me?"

"I said, 'no.'" Starscream replied in a low tone. "So you--"

Megatron's hand grabbed his head and yanked him into a bruising kiss. Soft lips and fangs assailed his senses. Starscream returned it, biting until he tasted energon. Just like the time he bit Unicron...and he felt that same sick delight. Megatron shoved him away and touched the wound on his lip. He glanced at the lilac droplets staining his fingertips.

"You wretched little--"

"What?" Starscream licked the energon off his lips. It tasted bitter. "Don't like it when I bite back?"

All expression left Megatron's face. "You're trying my patience, pet."

"Stop calling me that!" growled Starscream.

Megatron charged. Starscream let his leader slam him into the floor. Vicious hands pounded his sides. Wincing, Starscream took the punishment--it wasn't time to fight back yet. He twisted as soft, smooth lips drew invisible patterns across his jaw. It would've been pleasant if Megatron wasn't simultaneously digging his fingers into the junction where his neck joined his body.

Starscream felt faint pressure as a familiar port locked around his cone. Even while numb he could feel the difference between Megatron and Unicron--Unicron's port slid out like a drawer, and it was so tight that Starscream could only fit two fingers or the tip of his cone inside. Megatron, on the other hand...was huge. He swallowed Starscream completely in a cable-leaden forest.

"What now, whore?" snarled Megatron, eyes like glowing blood. His grip tightened, leaving dents shaped like his fingers. "Is that all you have to offer? Pitiful!"

Starscream let himself slip back into his old habits. An act, but so habitual that he thought himself quite convincing. "Oh, M-Megatron! I don't know what came over me!"

"What are you, then?"

He counted his coolant pump cycles.  _Steady at fifty eight revolutions_. "Your...your pet..."

Megatron backhanded him and grabbed his chin, "And your continual failure means that is all you'll ever be. This is where you belong--under me." His breath hitched as his arousal rose. He bent down, face to face, "You are my most beautiful soldier...I hate doing this to you."

Lies, all lies. Megatron said these things to make him compliant, to take the blame off himself.

_Sixty one revolutions_.

"Mmh," Starscream faked a moan and forced a few tears out of his optics.

The tears won a growl from Megatron. "Are you crying?"

"N-no sir..."

Another fist in the face. "Don't lie!"

_Sixty four revolutions_.

Grunting, Starscream tuned out the angry insults Megatron threw at him. He still heard it, but he'd numbed his mind just like his cone. They were only words that rolled off his mental armor like rain on window panes. Hard to believe the pain they once caused--and some still stung.

Sharp fangs bit his shoulder, leaving scratches. Hungry hands pawed at his chassis.

"Ooh..."

"Unh," moaned Megatron. He wobbled and looked down through glazed optics. "You feel so  _good_...yeeessss...now you're being a good little toy," he patted Starscream's head as if he were a dog, "Good little toy."

_Sixty seven revolutions_.

"Whatever pleases you, Megatron."  _That's right, eat it up_... Starscream wrapped his arms around his leader's neck. The back of his throat ached--he could still remember the days when he found Megatron so breathtakingly beautiful. In a strange way, he was going to miss him. He touched a light, secret farewell kiss to the corner of Megatron's mouth. With that kiss he closed the doors on the past. Never again would he be his leader's toy.  _Never again_.

Megatron called him a whore. The insult hardened Starscream's resolve.

"Ohh, Megatron...there's something...important I need to say..."

"Yessss?"

_Sixty eight revolutions_.

It was now or never.

Starscream hung in the space between the tick and tock of time. Before him stood a precipice leading into infinity. Dread wrapped its black claws around his consciousness and mocked him with Megatron's moans.

In the distance, Unicron's voice echoed like thunder.

**Jump. Jump _now_.**

Pulling Megatron down further, Starscream whispered in his ear, "You're _fucked_."

And then his metaphorical self spread its arms and jumped over the edge. Trusting with all of his being that Unicron would be waiting at the bottom.

He hooked his leg behind Megatron's and flipped him over, slamming him onto his back. Too stunned to react, Megatron gaped. Starscream pinned his leader's wrists to the floor, lifted himself up and jammed his cone down. Megatron cried out in pain.

Starscream felt his coolant pumps reach optimum rotation. He stared into Megatron's eyes and turned his cone on. Hot, electric sex trickled through his neural network.

"No...you--"

"Yes!" the Seeker snarled, "YES!"

"Stop!"

" _You_  never stopped for  _me_. Ohhh...now--I--am--taking--what--I--deserve!" Starscream's orange optics glowed and he bared his teeth in a triumphant grin. "Watch me--watch what--you've--been missing...ohhhh... _yes_...here it comes..." His love and hate collided and the moment he dreamed about for years finally arrived.

He was overloading off Megatron!

"You WRETCH!"

"Ohh, YES! HA, HA! YES! I'm  _wretched_ ,  _YES!_ " Starscream arched and clasped his hands behind his head, displaying his whole body for Megatron to see. " _Watch_  me! Ohh, PRIMUS, YES!" The overload traveled in waves from his cone to the top of his head, and sparks gushed like lava around his legs. "YES!"

His orgasmic cries echoed around the room. The entire base had to hear him as he lived up to his name. Megatron grabbed at his torso, but his shaking hands found no purchase--serving instead to bring Starscream even more pleasure.

The overload began to dwindle. Starscream pulled himself off Megatron, who lay almost motionless ever since the flip. For a moment he pondered lubricating him--then, disgusted, decided not to. Even he couldn't make himself sink that low. Instead, he decided to let his leader taste what he would never have again.

Starscream bent and ravished Megatron's lips with his own. He ran his tongue all over his fangs, the roof of his mouth and inside his cheeks, tasting fire and hints of copper. Megatron kissed back in desperation. Starscream shoved him away like refuse, cementing his rejection. He staggered the two steps to Megatron's throne and planted his aft on the seat. His internal injury sent tiny pain pulses through his overheated neural pathways. He didn't care, it was a small twinge compared to what he suffered all these years.

But never again.

Earthshine shone through a crack in the ceiling. Starscream turned his face towards its light. Despite his few dents and scratches, he scintillated like a red and white mirror against his drab surroundings.

"Unh...y-you..." Megatron's body literally smoked. A bot left that close to overload was completely helpless unless someone relieved the charge around his Spark. Granted, Megatron was often so fast to overload that he never left Starscream so far on the brink...and that made it all the more sweeter. There was no possible way he'd be functional without releasing the built up energy.

Starscream stretched his legs and grinned, his smile full of vengeful daggers. How many times had he been the one left in that position?

"Oh, did I forget to let you finish? Hm, I'm not sorry. You deal with it."

Megatron rose to his knees, but collapsed, unable to stand. His hateful glare pierced the dark room. "How--dare you!"

He faltered and sprawled out on his back. Convulsions wracked his frame and Starscream's fuel tanks almost froze. He fought down the sympathy worming its way into his triumph. Seeing Megatron like this wasn't supposed to  _hurt_!

A purple hand grasped Starscream's ankle. "Starscream..."

Starscream kicked it away. "No. Never again."

Megatron shifted one hand down. Starscream leaned back, watching his leader pleasure himself. Megatron gazed up, helpless in his unfulfilled need. The humiliation in his eyes made Starscream  _laugh_. It was beautiful!

"How's it feel down there? It's not so fun when you're the one taking it, is it?"

Megatron turned his head and refused to look at him. His fingers worked around the wires in his access port--dark purple delving between red, white and clear. Smoke and sparks followed his movements.

"You will...pay...dearly for this..." Megatron's voice dripped malice, a threat nowhere near empty. Then he doubled over at Starscream's feet, lost in the throes of his self-imposed orgasm. He did not make a sound.

Something Unicron said popped up in Starscream's mind.

_Every nanosecond between the words and the action they describe is a nanosecond you can use to rationalize_.

Pain was coming. Starscream knew it. He saw its reflection in Megatron's crimson optics.

Running now would turn his defiance into cowardice and undermine everything Unicron taught him. No sacrifice, no victory. Starscream refused to retreat, regardless of how cold his insides grew. He braced himself mentally as his metaphorical self continued its precarious descent into the unknown. Nobody guaranteed him reaching the bottom in one piece.

"Well," panted Megatron. He didn't let his embarrassment show, "Now...I know...what a traitor you are..."

" _You're_  the traitor, Megatron!" Starscream exploded, baring his teeth. The millennia of frustration burned his vocal processors, "It's your  _job_  as a leader to look after your men, not hurt them! Optimus...now  _he_  is a true leader. He has integrity, he is fair and he cares more for his men than himself."

Megatron shakily assumed a vertical base, the motion smooth despite his tremors. Starscream followed the movement without breaking eye contact. Burning orange gazed deeply into freezing red.

Starscream saw the blade emerge from Megatron's wrist. Hot lumps formed in his throat and traveled to his eyes, making them mist over. For once he wasn't ashamed of their presence. He let the tears build and escape. Tears for what Megatron could never be, tears for his lost future and tears for the grief Unicron would feel.

He watched Megatron lean over the throne in slow motion.

"Starscream," said Megatron in a tone devoid of expression, "You're crying."

"There's no weakness in tears." Starscream replied. No, he would never be ashamed to cry again after touching the tears of a god. "And I cry because I pity you."

The blade rose, gleaming in the light.

"Why do you pity me?"

Leaning forward, Starscream offered himself up to destiny, "Because  _nobody loves you_ , Megatron. Not even you."

Megatron's lips pulled away from his fangs. His wrist blade drew a flashing white line through the air. Starscream fell back into the throne. He heard something bang into the floor. He reached instinctively for his wing blade--only to encounter an empty space. The sound he heard was his wing hitting the ground.

Another flash and his other wing joined its brother. He had no time to react, to dodge, not when cold steel agony made his sensors convulse.

His beautiful wings...

Despite the pain, Starscream didn't let himself shrink back. The murderous glow in Megatron's eyes terrified him...but he refused to show it. He'd be defiant to the end if he had to.

Shimmers ran like dew down the blade's edge.

Megatron thrust.

Starscream grabbed his wrist in both hands.

A fist knocked him clean off the throne. He whirled to his feet as a second blow smashed him into the wall. Static crackled in his audio sensors. Before he recovered, Megatron's weight pinned him in place, painfully shoving his cheek against the wall. His wing stubs throbbed, the fractures in his fuel pipe ached and hairline cracks made his left optic burn.

That was nothing compared to what came next.

"I will have no mercy." Megatron whispered.

Then he stabbed the blade into Starscream's back. Once, twice, three times, each blow intended to cause maximum pain. Starscream felt wires, coolant lines, circuits and energon pumps being torn apart. Megatron spun him back around. Fire lashed his face and his left optic shattered. Energon poured from the gash running diagonally down the length of his face.

Megatron plunged his thumb into the shattered optic and crushed the mechanical eyeball, turning Starscream's world white-hot. "Where is your bravado now, pet?"

Starscream clutched his wounded eye and punched his leader harder than he ever hit anything in his life. The blow carried all the frustration, hatred, self-loathing and pain Megatron made him feel. He threw another. Sparks and energon leaked from his wounds. Every movement hurt. But all Megatron did was make the mental physical. Starscream wanted to offer it back.

His third uppercut sent Megatron to the floor. Megatron grabbed his arm as he fell.

This time, Starscream felt the blade enter his belly, shattering his cockpit. It went in at an angle, pierced his fuel tank and scraped against his Spark chamber.

The Seeker shrieked, arching as if overloading. Nauseating coldness broke out all over his body. His internal computer flashed red warning lights over his vital systems.

"You know what I'm going to do to you, my precious little whore?" Megatron gazed down into Starscream's working optic, his lips curled in a sickening smile. He adjusted his position so their ports were lined up. "I am going to take you until you die."

Starscream's metaphorical self hit the ground.

Hard.

"Go ahead!" Starscream whispered. He smiled with oil and energon stained teeth, "I've already won. Your reaction is proof enough, so go right on ahead, Megatron! Or do you lack the Spark to finish what you've started?"

That  _really_  set Megatron off. He jerked the blade side to side and wrenched it out. Glowing purple streaks stained the metal. Starscream gasped and dry heaved--unable to vomit because the material he tried to bring up was painting an abstract blob across his battered torso. His peripheral vision pixilated until only Megatron's face remained clear. He stared at him, telling himself he'd keep staring as long as he remained conscious, and he hoped that ever after he died his cold, dead optics would haunt him forever.

Megatron ripped the broken cockpit off Starscream's chest. Starscream's Spark pulsed strongly within its transparent chamber. He felt rather than saw the Decepticon's purple fingers stretching towards it. Horror laced his tired circuits. In less than a second he would lose the last piece of him he could still call pure.

Lightning struck the floor beside the throne. A return stroke hit the ceiling, ripping a hole through the cracks. Harsh white sunlight flooded onto the pillars of smoke and moon dust rising from the disturbance.

Megatron jerked his hand back. "Who goes there?"

Red optics--identical in color to Megatron's--flared like twin suns in the smoke. All they did was look at Megatron, and the Decepticon leader went flying off Starscream to crash against the opposite wall.

"What the--how  _dare_  you!" snarled Megatron. He rose and pointed his cannon at the dust. The cannon doubled its length and twisted back onto its owner. Then Megatron was wrenched down onto his knees as if a magnet pulled him to the floor. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get to his feet. "Release me at once! Do you have any idea who I am?"

A voice spoke, deep and deadpan. "I know what you  _will_  be if you don't shut up, Megatron."

Starscream painfully pushed himself up onto his elbows. The blinding ache in his body told him this was no hallucination. "Un-Unicron..."

Unicron stepped out of the dust cloud and ethereal streams of sunlight poured over his golden body. Shimmers followed his silver wing array. He literally lit up the room. Starscream's Spark ached at the sight of him--so awe-inspiringly beautiful, cold and perfect in his imperfection. Unicron did not exist in the universe. Unicron took the universe and made it exist around him.

Megatron stared at Unicron, his lips pressed in a tight line. He, too, appeared awed by the dark god.

Unicron crossed the room and knelt next to Starscream--he just knelt right down into the puddle of energon and oil. His expressionless face flowed through shadow and light.

"Unicron," Starscream croaked. "Some entrance."

"I like to be memorable." It was funnier because his expression never changed. Then he went on, serious, "I'm sorry to interfere, Starscream, but I could not stand idly by and let him violate your Spark."

"Just kill him."

"No. The only weapons I'll wield here are words." He touched the scrape marring Starscream's face and his eyes darkened a half-degree. "Violence will teach him nothing."

Starscream brushed the back of his index finger across Unicron's bottom lip. "I'm--so glad you're here...I didn't think I'd get a chance to--to see you again."

Unicron clasped the hand and laid it gently on Starscream's chest. "It's all right now. I'm here, Starscream, and after I'm done with Megatron I will never leave your side again."

"Pretty short 'never'," snorted Starscream, trying to hold his brave face. He knew his trembling fingers gave him away.

"Oh, how touching." Megatron scoffed. "Starscream, you certainly get around."

Without further comment, the dark god uncurled to his feet. He walked over to Megatron, picked him up by the back of his neck and carried him to his throne. Megatron's aft made a satisfying clang as he was unceremoniously dumped onto the seat.

"Unicr--"

"Be still now, Starscream. I'm pleased with your success. Now it is my turn."

The way Unicron spoke sounded emotionless. It was all in his eyes--the sadness he once mistook for numbness.

Megatron twisted to his feet. "How dare you barge into my base and--"

Unicron advanced until their noses nearly touched. They may have been the same height, but Unicron was broader. He made the Decepticon leader look tiny by comparison.

" _Sit_  down."

It wasn't snapped or shouted. He used that tone once when he told Starscream not to talk about Primacron, and it was powerful enough that Megatron grudgingly seated himself.

Unicron planted his square hands on the arms of the throne, pinning Megatron's wrists. His huge palms nearly swallowed Megatron's forearms.

"You pitiful excuse of a mech," he said, and a flare of his optics halted Megatron before he could retort. "You were created solely for battle. It is all you know. I know your Spark was thrown into this body--that you didn't get to choose. You are a prisoner to your programming."

Megatron's jaw dropped. He closed it quickly and sneered. "How did you--"

"I  _know_  a lot of things, Megatron. I know what you've been doing to Starscream."

"The wretch deserved it. He's weak."

Unicron backhanded him. Half the power he used when he struck Starscream so long ago. Then he held Megatron's face between thumb and forefinger, forcing eye-contact. Fury dripped ice into his voice, " _Don't_  talk about Starscream that way in my presence."

Starscream's Spark rejoiced.

"He has more freedom than you ever will. You wanted to wrench it away from him ever since you saw him painting on Cybertron. And why? Because he had what you desired, and what you can't have you destroy. Isn't that right, Megatron?" Unicron leaned up, but Megatron refused to say anything.

Tightening his jaw, the dark god went icily on, "Using sex to dominate and control..." his optics narrowed into crimson slits, "I know your type all too well. You're gorgeous, you know--so it's easy to goad someone into doing what you want, right? You must pride yourself on your good looks."

"Of--of course. A leader has to look good."

"And behind that beautiful face is something too ugly to see the light of day." Unicron bared his fangs--again showing that nothing about him was small--and his tone was pure malice, "Then you see Starscream, who is even more attractive than you. You couldn't stand it, could you? The way he moved...yes I've seen him dance...how creative he is, the  _brilliant_  art he paints--you tried to format it out of him. That didn't work, so you started chipping at his mind. You  _had_  to have him...but not for who he was. No, you just wanted his body. You wanted to be like him. Stop me if I'm getting warm."

" _Silence!_ " bellowed Megatron, "I demand these lies stop!"

"Oh, somebody's angry. Did I hit a nerve?"

"Grr!"

Starscream choked out a laugh. Seeing Megatron dressed down by somebody so much stronger was more than he ever dreamed of. Everything he went through was worth it just to witness this moment.

"Your problem, Megatron, is you hate yourself. You see people in love all around you and you can't stand it. You want someone to give what you can't give to yourself. You want to be loved again...yes, I know about  _him_."

"That was the past!" Megatron struggled against Unicron's hands. When he didn't get anywhere, he snapped, "What would someone like you know about love?"

Silently, Unicron turned his head and met Starscream's working optic. "Love means you would walk into fire, face oblivion and turn the universe inside out just to be near whoever it is your Spark belongs to...and then leave again if they asked you to. Love is finding the wherewithal to forgive someone's imperfections and accept everything they are. Love is waiting millennia for a person to come to their senses." He faced Megatron again, lowering until their noses nearly touched, "And that is something  _you_  will never experience unless you change, because you don't fool anyone. You, Megatron, are a  _monster_."

Starscream never knew Megatron's optics could open as wide as they did. Unicron wielded words like twin blades, slicing, dicing and stabbing Megatron's most vulnerable points.

"Look over at Starscream."

Megatron glanced at Starscream.

"No,  _look_." Unicron forced his head to the side again.

Starscream's consciousness began to flicker. Death pangs twisted at his chassis, wrenching soft moans from his voice processors. His limbs were going numb as his body shut down energon circulation to all but his most vital systems--and even those started to fail.

"Do you see what you've done to him? You weren't teaching him a lesson. You mutilated him because that is what you look like on the inside, and you wanted him as ugly as you. Because...Megatron...who could love a monster? Who would want to get close to something so horrible, something that might hurt or betray them?"

"I've had just about enough of this!" Megatron's eyes burned like hellfire. " _Die!_ "

Starscream gasped as his leader buried his wrist blade in Unicron's side. When Unicron didn't move, he did it again. And again...and again...until Unicron grabbed his wrist, inserted the blade halfway down his throat and bit off the end like a rust stick. He tilted his head back, swallowing it whole.

"Keep that up and I'll eat your arm next." Unicron lifted Megatron's hand. He regurgitated the blade sharp end first and spat it out. Hard. It shot from his lips like a missile and imbedded itself less than a millimeter from Megatron's crotch.

Starscream snickered when Megatron jerked his aft further back into his seat.  _I hope you like fear, Megatron_...

Megatron snarled, "W-what in Primus' name are you?"

Unicron replied coolly. "Are you going to test me further, or are you going to be quiet and let me finish?"

All expression on the Decepticon leader's face disappeared. He retracted his damaged wrist blade and rested his cheek on his palm. His attempt to appear nonchalant failed--Starscream saw the nervous way his other hand balled in a tight fist. Who wouldn't be nervous when someone just demonstrated excellent marksmanship by _spitting_?

Straightening, Unicron continued his lecture as if no interruption occurred. " _That_  is why you did this to Starscream. Misery loves company." He let his wing array relax slightly, the tips touching the floor. "I spent ten  _million_  years with someone like you--" --the words shocked Starscream back to full consciousness-- "I was made to believe no one could ever want me. I had children that ended up rejecting me...you know them well because you  _use them as war machines_ ," he spat the last words out like lasers, and his optics grew brighter as he went on, "I'm old enough to know your Spark is a piece of Creation itself. And I spent much of that time thinking the universe hated me. I thought no beauty existed anywhere because all I knew was the ugliness of my master.”

Unicron backed away from the throne and his heavy footsteps approached Starscream. The shadow of his wing array fell across Starscream's shoulders, filling the void where his wings used to be. Starscream reached towards him. Unicron's silver hand descended out of the sun's diamond-white glare. Their fingertips met and interlocked like lovers in the sunlight--huge, flawless silver gently swallowing thin, energon-stained black.

Crimson optics trembled. "Star _scream_."

Despite his pain, Starscream found the strength to smile. "It's okay...I know I look like slag..."

Unicron knelt and pressed a finger to his lips. His touch was light, careful. "I hardly noticed."

"Flatterer." Starscream tried to laugh, but that made his chassis hurt. Strange...it seemed like nothing mattered now that Unicron was here. He was so happy just to feel his touch again.

Unicron's hands slid under Starscream's back and behind his knees. Those hands--capable of ripping planets apart--gathered him gently to a broad chest. Energon poured freely from his wounds and pattered on the dusty ground. His limbs dangled and his head lolled back, but he never felt safer than in that moment.

Unicron stood and his voice changed, became less cold. "I am holding the only reason I'm still alive to have this conversation with you, Megatron. He is the one who reminded me that there is still beauty in this universe. I would live through another ten million years of torture for  _him_ , at his command, if it meant seeing just one taste of his imagination."

Tears brimmed in Starscream's functioning optic. "No, Unicron...I would never make you--"

"Spare me this poetic nonsense." Megatron remained deadpan. "What is your point, Unicron?"

"You ache to feel what I feel right now, what Starscream feels right now, but it slips away every time you get close. You're afraid of being alone, yet that is all you know because of what you are. Who wants to love a beautiful person who is so ugly inside that he even hates himself? Ask yourself that, Megatron. And before you answer, I want you to take a look at what your self-hatred did to your best soldier. He's  _dying_  because of you." Unicron stepped into the sunlight and Starscream's injuries blazed in all their horrible glory. His lips pulled back, revealing his fangs. " _This_  is what you are,  _this_  is what people see when they look at you and  _this_  is why you're alone."

That struck the fatal blow.

"I  _HATE_  YOU!" Megatron exploded, the sunlight flashing off his teeth, "You don't know me! I don't know where you came up with these lies! Take them, that battered wretch and get out of my sight!"

Unicron didn't move a servo. "There is someone out there who wants to love you again, Megatron. Someone who loved you once before and is capable of forgiving you. All you have to do is change and he will be yours once more. And I know you know  _who_  I'm talking about."

Starscream cast a confused look in Unicron's direction. As usual, Unicron revealed nothing.

Megatron's optics grew faraway and misty. It seemed like the entire war played across his eyes. Suddenly, his face twisted as if something physically pained him. He grimaced, pressed a fist to his mouth and turned halfway, burying his face in his palm.

"That was so long ago...I still remember his face, his lips...his kiss..." Tears dripped through his fingers. "I  _miss_  him."

Starscream wasn't sure if he dreamed it...or if he actually heard Megatron  _sob_.

"This entire war has been nothing more than a quarrel between lovers. Both of you made your inner conflict physical. And look at what it's done." Unicron tilted his head, his gaze remaining steady. "This is the pain you've been running from, Megatron. It's staring you in the face. This will be the one you love if you continue the way you're going, and killing him won't make your feelings for him disappear. If anything, you will grow even uglier. Strength, Megatron, is not about size, power or possessions...it is realizing you still have a choice. You can sit in the dark and stay a monster, or you can break the chains that hold you down and reach for the light. What's it going to be, Megatron?"

Another pang ripped through Starscream's chassis. He moaned and shifted, causing more energon to join the wide puddle at Unicron's feet. Unicron held him closer, his touch reassuring.

"Muh--Megatron..." Starscream winced, turning to look fully at his leader. "All...I ever wanted...was--respect. I never--ever--asked for more than that..." he gritted his teeth against the dull pain in his ruptured fuel tank.

Megatron reached out and silently laid a hand on Starscream's head. Then he bent forward, bringing their foreheads into contact. At such close proximity, Starscream could hear the circuits in Megatron's head literally crackle. Something major was happening inside him.

**I have never seen this before...**  Unicron raised a dark optic ridge,  **He is fighting his own programming.**

Starscream fought his weariness and cupped the back of Megatron's head. He tried to tap his mainframe, to see--but his leader pulled out of his grasp.

Megatron's mouth quivered despite his teeth digging trenches in his bottom lip. The corners of his eyes crinkled and he began to weep openly, a broken sound. "What have I become?" He sank to sit and rocked back and forth, hugging himself as mech fluid left golden trails on his smooth gray cheeks.

The sun tracked slowly forward, its rays gently caressing Megatron's cheek. His tears sparkled as they dropped into the energon puddle making its way between his feet. Dully, Starscream noticed how the teardrops made sunburst patterns in his blood.

"You haven't forgotten how to cry," said Unicron, his tone still soft, "You aren't beyond hope."

"Get out!" Megatron covered his face in both hands. He continued to bleed from the wounds Unicron opened on his Spark. "Don't look at me...just...go..."

And  _that_  was the moment the door slid open. Demolishor and Cyclonus rushed in with Sideways following at a slower pace.

"Sir! The Mini-Cons are rebelling! They've barricaded themselves around the warp gate and--" Cyclonus froze when Demolishor grabbed his arm and pointed. Neither looked at Unicron or Starscream. Their eyes went to their crying leader.

**They can't see us.**

Starscream was too tired to ask questions. He watched Demolishor place a hand on Megatron's shoulder. Cyclonus stood nervously in the doorway. Sideways faced Unicron and offered an imperceptible nod.

"Sideways..." Starscream gasped. Even talking hurt now, "the...Mini-Cons...Earth..."

"Gotcha."

Sideways slipped out.

"Unicron...I don't have much...time..." Starscream grasped Unicron's armor, "Take me out of here. I--want to spend--my last few minutes...somewhere alone...with...you."

Unicron gazed down at him and his optics dimmed. "Starscream..."

"Please, Unicron. I--" he turned towards the commotion barely twenty feet away.

"--sir! The Mini-Cons! Are you all right? Where are you injured?"

"Someplace you can't reach," whispered Megatron.

"What should I do about the Mini-Cons?"

Megatron waved his hand. "Let them go, Demolishor."

" _WHAT_?"

"Did I stutter, dolt?" Megatron grabbed Demolishor's shoulder, yanked him down and snarled in his audio sensor, "I said  _let them go!_ "

Then he clutched his head and collapsed, and only Demolishor's quick reflexes kept him from slipping to the floor.

"Sir! You need medical attention!"

"No...for the last time...this wound can't be reached. Let it bleed, Demolishor. Just let it bleed."

Demolishor and Cyclonus exchanged concerned looks.

"Hey..." Cyclonus glanced around. "Where's Starscream?"

Megatron looked right at Starscream and Unicron--but did not see them. He burst out laughing, bitterly. Then sparks flew off the side of his head and he slumped backwards. Smoke rose from his open mouth.

"Sir!" shouted Demolishor.

Cyclonus sat Megatron up straight. Megatron's helm caught the light, revealing a jagged hole near one of his antler-like antennae. Electricity buzzed around the opening.

"He's...he's blown a circuit! And--" he touched Megatron's chest, "--his Spark is pulsing erratically."

More was said, but Starscream's consciousness flickered and he missed most of it. He watched Cyclonus and Demolishor carry Megatron out of the throne room.

"Will he survive?"

Unicron nodded silently. "Bots such as him have chips that keep their battle program running nonstop. I--can't be sure without physically examining him myself, but he may have destroyed those chips."

"So..." Starscream panted, "he's...free?"

"If that is the case, yes--though he won't realize it until it's time for him to make his ultimate choice."

"Then I guess...mm..." Searing agony wracked Starscream's frame. Sparks flew off his exposed wiring. He felt his main fuel pump stop and struggled to keep his intake cycles regular. Nobody lived more than a few minutes once their main pump ceased functioning. "It's--it's time. Oh, Primus..."

Turning, Unicron looked up as another light shone down. This time it came from his real body, which filled the sky and somehow managed  _not_  to alert Earth of its presence or disturb the delicate balance of the solar system. His shoulders easily spanned the distance between Earth and the moon. The way his body hung there against the sun, shining a light down from its chest...from his Spark...Starscream had never seen anything so wonderful.

"Unicron...I--"

"Shh, I know." Unicron kissed him gently, like he might break. His feet left the dusty moon and he rose through the ray of light.

Static clouded Starscream's vision. He was so cold and tired...he just wanted to sleep.

Unicron whisked him away into his painting of the pine forest. Starscream gazed around at it all. The gentle rain washed the energon off his armor. No more flowed--he'd bled completely out and survived only on fumes. He rested his cheek on Unicron's chest, watching how the rain ran down his face like tears.

"You're--so beautiful...Unicron," Starscream whispered. Pain on a level beyond the physical wrenched his Spark. "I'm--sorry--that I have to leave you--this way."

Unicron cupped his face, "Star _scream_...please--"

"I love you," he blurted before Unicron could stop him. He wanted him to hear it said out loud.

A quivering almost-smile tugged the Chaos-bringer's lips. "That pleases me."

Starscream felt the coldness abate into a strange euphoria. He was in Unicron's arms, Unicron knew he loved him and he was completely and utterly  _free_.

Unicron bent to whisper in his audio sensor, "It's all right now."

Tears welled in Starscream's eyes. "I'm scared..."

"Star _scream_ ," Unicron said again, his voice creating a chord in the rainfall pattering against his body. He lowered his head and covered Starscream's mouth with his own.  **I won't leave you, Starscream.**

Starscream's hands lost their grip on Unicron's wet armor. Mech fluid poured down his cheek, mixing with the raindrops. His systems all failed. Panicking, he flailed until large hands pressed him closer to a broad chest. Like a parent held its child.

_Unicron! Don't leave me_.

Cool fingertips brushed his torn cheek. **Never again.**

Starscream reached up into the nothingness. He saw flashes...

...of falling through silver clouds--

Static.

\--himself painting around Unicron...

Binary code.

...their hands interlocking in the rain--

Fractal patterns.

\--his reflection in a red optic gazing at the center of the universe...

Light.

...himself, in Unicron's arms, rising into a blinding white glow--

Light everywhere.

Trembling lips touched the tears on his cheek. His intakes grew smaller and further apart. He clung desperately to consciousness, afraid that the moment he lost it he would lose everything. He didn't want to forget his lover's name!

"Unicron..."

**Right here, Starscream.**  A hand cupped his head, supporting it as the rest of his body went limp. Unicron was still there. Nothing bad happened in Unicron's arms. He was safe. **I'm right here.**

"Unicron," he whispered again, choking on his words. Wetness beaded on his cheek and dribbled across his mouth. It did not taste like rain. "Tell me...I want--to--hear..."

Unicron's lips--soft, full and warm--trembled, moving off his cheek to gently peck his mouth. Then Unicron took his hand, kissed it and held it against the side of his face. His perfect, beautiful face.

"I--" it was in his audio sensor, a low, rich rumble of utter sincerity, "I  _love_  you, Starscream."

The rain became a rainbow downpour of light. In that moment, the moment where Starscream inhaled what he was sure was his last breath, Unicron became everything he ever dreamed of in a lover.

"Uni...cron..." Starscream exhaled and smiled as all his pain disappeared.

.o

After a timeless time, awareness touched him.

So this was death.

Funny, Starscream expected it to be a complete void without thought or dream...it was always his belief that the body housed the personality, and it all fell away when the Spark left. He wasn't prepared to be cognizant of himself or his surroundings. He existed in a warm, fluid-like environment where strange, chiming musical chords filtered gently through the silence.

He did not think in words. Always pictures. He  _remembered_  knowing what words were and he recalled using them to speak, but now only one existed in his consciousness.

Sometimes he remembered his life--moments of dancing and painting. Many times he caught himself moving with his dreams as if they were real.

Over time, it got harder to move. Was this space shrinking, or was he somehow growing? At first he just couldn't straighten out. Then he was trapped with his knees to his chest.

More days, weeks, years--hard to say--slipped by. He slept most of it, waking occasionally to see if anything changed.

A vision came to him. It was Megatron on Cybertron. He sat alone on a stone bench, looking through sad optics at the red nebula painting Starscream created millennia ago. His Decepticon insignia were absent, painted over to match his armor.

The fact that he visited Starscream's paintings proved a surprise...and not the only one.

Someone's hand tapped Megatron's shoulder. Megatron faced its owner, an unmasked and gorgeous Optimus Prime. Optimus plopped himself next to Megatron and nudged him with his shoulder. Megatron turned fully. Their optics met and time around them appeared to stop.

The way they looked at each other made Starscream flutter inside.

He didn't know how Optimus got past the monster inside of Megatron or what happened to the war...he just knew his ex-leader chose love, and in doing so he became beautiful again.

Another vision...dream...something...let him see Cyclonus and Demolishor raising energon cubes in a toast. Then Demolishor passed out under the bar. Cyclonus slapped his knee, laughing--a real, genuine laugh, not the fake, screechy guffaw from battle. Starscream liked that sound much better.

When he looked again later, he saw all of Cybertron. The war was over. From the looks of things, Mini-Cons seemed spread out everywhere. Some on Earth, some on Cybertron and others in locations Starscream couldn't identify.

They weren't being used anymore. Wherever they were, the people treated them as equals. They had rights. They were  _free_.

Light penetrated the void. He turned towards it. Either his vision or the viscous liquid reduced everything to a blur, and all he could discern was a figure floating next to his left eye. It looked like a Mini-Con with tubes stuck all over its body. He felt its tiny hands pat his cheek, probably reassuring him that he'd meet Primus soon. He tried to ask it how long, but the fluid rendered his voice processor useless. How strange that he breathed it in and out without suffering internal damage...well, it wasn't like he could drown.

Starscream let his awareness fade again. He sank into an oblivion without thought nor dream. Primus would come to collect him soon. If he asked Starscream to name the best part of his life, his answer would be the one word he never forgot:

_Unicron_.


	9. 9

Gurgling sounds disturbed the peaceful silence. Annoyed, Starscream tried to go back to sleep. His watery environment seemed somehow smaller...and he realized with horror that it was squeezing in on him. Finally all the pressure ruptured something. The fluid cushion surrounding his body drained away, clearing his vision.

The walls of this place appeared a cross between rock and smooth muscle. Spongy, yet firm to the touch...firmer still when it tightened again. It was pushing him against an opening just above his head--would he fit through a hole that small?

He got his answer when the hole stretched to accommodate him. His body uncurled itself as contractile movements forced him around a bend. Cold air wisped across the top of his head. Then his face cleared the opening. Silver hands cupped his head, supporting it. He felt himself turning to the side as one shoulder emerged followed by the other. The rest of his body popped right out.

He was falling...remembering...falling some more...and then everything rushed back as golden arms lifted him onto a warm white table and dried him with something soft. Metal tubing disconnected itself from his chassis. His body was so used to being curled up that he tried to resume that comfortable position.

Starscream's intakes revved and roared. He spat up gallons of fluid and gasped, his intake system sputtering until no liquid clogged the valves or fans. Amber slime covered him so thickly that he couldn't see the color of his own hands.

Was he in the presence of Primus? How undignified!

He tried to sit up and greet his Creator properly. Something strong discouraged this action.

"Relax. Your wings haven't hardened yet. You might damage them."

Wow, Primus sounded familiar.

"Primus...?" Starscream turned his head, though he couldn't see much with the amber-stained cloth in the way. "You sound just like..."

"I'm not Primus. His voice isn't as deep as mine." Unicron lowered himself until his cheek touched the table. His smirk caused one fang to peek out between his pouty lips. "Surprise."

He gasped. Unicron was here too?

"Don't tell me you killed yourself to--"

"You're alive."

"What?" Starscream's logic circuits ground to a halt. Being so groggy made thinking difficult enough, and Unicron playing mind-games didn't help. "C'mon, Unicron, don't mess with me right now! I hate that this early. What happened?"

A soft, humorless chuckle answered him.

" _Uni_ cron..." Starscream growled. He wasn't disappointed to be alive--not by a long shot--but he really did want to know why he was looking at Unicron instead of Primus.

"Oh all right. Relax. Technically, you  _did_  die...but I held you on the brink." Unicron rose up and resumed his work with the drying cloth. His touch was firm, but careful, his big hands covering a lot of space in a short time. He didn't linger long on one area. "Your other body was too damaged to repair, so I grew you a new one. You‘re reborn, Starscream...and more stunning than before."

Starscream rose to his knees. A queer sensation made his back itch. He gawked at the far wall, at his shadow, watching the silhouette of his wings uncurl and stretch out like a butterfly fresh from its chrysalis.

"I want to see myself."

"I can grant that," said Unicron. His wing array came down and pulled Starscream to his feet.

The wall that held Starscream's shadow morphed into a shimmering liquid mirror. Unicron helped Starscream walk closer and let the cloth fall away, revealing a mix of the past and future.

Everywhere he'd been red was now blue with a red trim, and his arms, legs and nozzles were gray. He touched his face--once white, now the color of Earth's sun at the reddest sunset, and stared at his new optics.  _Silver_...

"I kept you as a jet," Unicron whispered in his audio sensor, "but I returned your pre-formatting colors. This was how I first knew you, Starscream...if you don't like it, I can--"

"N-no..." Starscream fought the rush of tears trying to surface. He didn't want to taint his face just yet, "Unicron, this is...how did--"

"Just your Spark and memory chips. That was all I needed to re-grow you this way. I had to tinker for awhile to make sure everything grew in the right place. Wouldn't want a leg where an arm should be."

Unicron's attempt at humor didn't go unnoticed. Starscream looked up at him. "Awhile being...?"

"A hundred years. You were a part of my body for a century. It was the only way to keep your Spark from leaving. You kept crying that you wanted to live, so I did everything I could to grant that wish." His mouth twitched again into that near-smile. "I spent most of that time in stasis so my consciousness wouldn't clash with yours. The times I did wake up to eat...you saw what Sideways relayed to me.”

Starscream sank to his knees again. A hundred years meant Alexis and the humans were all gone. Yet, as sad as that was, he had so much more to be happy for. Still, he spared a tear for the human girl who trusted him when no one else would.

"Megatron--"

"Changed, yes. He and Optimus were bonded lovers long before the war. That's why Optimus tried to be so kind to you during your short time with the Autobots. He felt what happened through the bond. It hurt him, but he  _forgave_  Megatron. Unbelievable...but not unexpected. And Demolishor and Cyclonus are very happy bond mates--thanks to you, of course, you were slick getting those two together. Hm, what else? Ah, yes...there is also a rather fantastic art museum dedicated to your work...and your memory--"

"My memory? Oh, great! That means there was a sob-story funeral where people told stupid stories about me." Starscream held his head in his hands. "How did Megatron and Optimus wind up back together?"

Unicron shrugged, "Rumor has it that Megatron and Optimus came to their final showdown--Optimus on the ground, Megatron with his cannon in his face. He couldn't take that last shot. He fell on his knees, broke down and poured out everything he'd done. Optimus didn't say anything, he just let him talk. Then, when it was all over, he hugged him and they cried all over each other. Boom. War over."

He said it with such casual amusement, as though he wouldn't have believed it without seeing it himself. Starscream certainly couldn't, and he felt a little bad that he didn't get to witness Megatron slaying his inner beast.

A wave of Unicron's hand turned the mirror into a cushion-like recharge table. He eased Starscream to lie down. Starscream complied without fussing. The table molded to his body, letting him rest on his stomach. Unicron sat on the table's edge, a hand lightly touching his back.

"So," whispered Starscream, "I'm free now. No ties to anybody, anywhere."

"Yes."

He rested his cheek on his folded hands. How strange, he slept for most of a century and still wanted to sleep a little longer.

"Rest now, Starscream. Tomorrow, I have something important to show you. Something no other Transformer will ever see."

Reaching out, Starscream found Unicron's hand. Its hugeness practically swallowed his fingers. He'd seen so many hands in his lifetime, but this pair was his favorite. He pulled it up to his face and swirled his tongue around the palm just to hear Unicron's intakes hitch in budding arousal.

"Star _scream_ ," the dark god growled--a friendly growl with many exciting promises woven into the sound. "Go to  _sleep_."

Starscream made a face and kept the hand prisoner against his cheek. He smiled as he drifted slowly into recharge.

.o

He woke up alone and ravenous for energon. A tray of cubes with an oil truffle on top sat near his feet. He negated all table manners and stuffed four at a time into his mouth. Delicious, he moaned at how they burst between his teeth and poured liquid energy down his metal gullet. It was low-grade with grease, filling without the troublesome intoxication. The truffle nearly put him in overload--Unicron made the best.

**You weren't hungry at all.**

Starscream felt his face grow hot. "Not really, I just enjoy eating like an animal once in awhile."

A humorless chuckle from the walls.  **Walk to my core. Don't ask questions, just do as I say.**

"I thought I  _was_  in your core..."

**You're on the backside of my abdominal lights.**

"That explains why it's warm in here."

**_Starscream_...**

"All right, all right!"

Starscream had gained some familiarity of the giant's maze-like innards, and could find his way around with more ease than before. That is, if making two less wrong turns counted as "finding his way around". Maybe Unicron rearranged his insides on purpose to drive Starscream's logic circuits into illegal operation errors.

**Turn left.**

At last, Starscream emerged into the cavernous chamber. It was mostly dark this time, lit only by the glowing white stone and the lilac energon pool. The colors shimmered across Starscream's silver optics, which were mirrors that reflected all the beautiful things he had ever laid eyes upon.

"I'm here...Unicron?"

**Jump into my core.**

"Are you crazy? I'll smash my face!"

**Starscream, trust me. Do it.**

Great, he thought Unicron got past these nonsensical mind-games! Still, the giant god rarely did anything without a purpose, even if that purpose wasn't immediately obvious.

Starscream took a running leap at the central rock. Instead of crashing into stone, he went right through and the air itself seemed to halt his momentum.

Everything gave off white light. Not blinding or overly dazzling, just a casual ambiance. The cables that suspended the stone from the ceiling repeated the pattern inside as well. They dropped out of sight.

Suddenly, the wall in front of Starscream split open. Another opened behind it, and yet another...they peeled away like the layers of an onion. Starscream passed through each opening until he entered a featureless chamber barely wide enough to accommodate his wings. Cables protruding from the ceiling entered a tiny golden ball sitting on a glass dais in the center. The dais itself hovered above the limb of a tremendous blue-white sphere--Unicron's Spark.

Starscream watched the Spark pulse. The heartbeat of a god, the god he so dearly loved...and it throbbed in his presence. He felt his own Spark flutter in reply.

The ball split open. Starscream's gaze whipped towards it.

_Could that be Welder? No...Unicron said Welder was white...and he's dead..._

Arms and legs popped out. A body took shape, its back to Starscream. The head flipped up and short horns locked into position. The ball had become a three foot tall being who looked a lot like Optimus Prime's Mini-Con.

 _That little person! I remember him--he was floating in the that watery place with me_...

Wires were connected to the Mini-Con's golden body. Mostly in his back like glowing orange wings. Smaller cables extended from his arms and sides. He appeared caught in a giant spider's web.

The Mini-Con turned around and Starscream fell onto his backside. That tiny face was identical to Unicron's--right down to the sad red eyes, black facial stripes and pointy beard. Except where Unicron's features were angular, this one was round, almost childlike. A large, coiled cable containing two tubes entered his abdomen as an umbilical line. It was connected to a flesh-like, glowing purple pouch on the wall behind him. Energon gently circulated in one tube and wastes flowed out the other. He possessed a large access port between his legs--big enough that, had their sizes been equal, Starscream could have fit his whole fist inside. The area looked worn, eroded from repeated thrusting and pounding. The rest of the Mini-Con's body was covered in scratches that were never fully repaired--or he chose to keep them as reminders.

Soft, beautiful chiming tones filled the chamber, echoing until a processor translated them into the familiar deep voice Starscream heard in the walls.

**This is _me_ , Starscream. This is what I am.**

Starscream knelt down until the Mini-Con's reflection shone in his silver eyes. "Unicron? But how?"

Red optics shimmered as more ethereal notes filled the air.

**Billions of years ago, I began life like this. Primacron tried to kill me by flinging me into the core of a planet. I lay there for many centuries, seething with hatred. That hatred manifested itself into psionic powers. I learned to manipulate my environment...and that is when I began creating Mini-Cons in my own image. First Welder, then the rest. My abilities grew as I created life until I shaped the entire planet around me into the body you are familiar with. From start to finish...I'd say the entire process took about five million years. My children, the Mini-Cons, helped me build and maintain my giant body until I learned to heal it on my own.**

Unicron punctuated his words with images. Starscream saw Welder's sky blue optics and perpetual smile as he moved amongst other Mini-Cons. He saw Unicron lying on white rocks, scarred to slag with shattered optics. Welder doted over him with gentle hands. When Unicron was able to walk again, the white Mini-Con followed him everywhere like a docile little lamb.

The simplest things made Welder happy. He jumped and giggled at the sight of a diamond. He ran races with other Mini-Cons. He sang in whistles and hisses. He even did handstands for the sheer joy of it. Yet, the moment Unicron gave a command he was immediately business.

Then Starscream saw Unicron sitting up, hands to his head, shaping the world around him until he'd built himself into the godly being seen today. Mini-Cons worked in the background, assisting by attaching wires or aligning gears.

 **Being so small...I couldn't defend myself.** Unicron showed Starscream his arms. There were no weapons on his body at all. How did he fight back against Primacron? **I never wanted to be wounded that way again, so I chose to be a giant...but in doing so I paid a heavy price. My mental abilities are so powerful that my Spark grew to accommodate them. My Spark needs this chamber to keep it corporeal. I can not survive outside this body.** He gestured to the dais, where a steady stream of energy gently filled the room like a fine mist. **So...when I said the stone contained all that I am and will ever be, I meant it. But that isn't so bad. Everything my giant body feels is relayed to me, allowing me to experience everything as vividly as you do.**

It finally dawned on Starscream that  _this_ , the Mini-Con, was the  _real_  Unicron. The huge planet-sized robot was just a massive protective shell...he built himself so huge...and he did the same for Starscream, just in a different way.

Now, here he was, a giant beside the precious true form of his beloved god.

Starscream held out his hands. Unicron stepped off the dais to stand on his palms. Starscream brought him closer to his face, as close as they were within the artificial womb. He remembered when their situations were reversed--when he stood in Unicron's massive hands--and realized just how small and weak he must seem compared to such awesome might.

Unicron felt more fragile than the rest of the Mini-Cons. The exposed sections of his limbs were literally pencil thin and his tapered fingers the tiniest, most perfect things Starscream had ever seen. Starscream trembled in his presence, afraid to so much as breathe on him and risk causing damage.

**Starscream, you're trembling. Don't be afraid. _Hold_  me.**

He took Starscream's thumbs and pulled them towards himself. Starscream reluctantly cupped his fingers around Unicron's body.

Unicron looked up and his mouth curled into an almost-smile. Those full lips were the same on his larger self, probably the only feature besides his stripes and goatee that remained unchanged.

**I have dreamed of this moment for eons.**

He stretched upwards, pressing his mouth to Starscream's bottom lip. His kiss felt like a flutter. Starscream puckered up and returned it as gently as he could, but even his softest kiss pushed Unicron onto his backside. He smiled, petting Unicron's cheek with his thumb. "You never cease to amaze me, Unicron."

The gold mech leaned back on his elbows, so brilliant against Starscream's black palms. He kept his legs closed despite his relaxed posture. **I imagine you never saw _this_  coming.**

Starscream held one of Unicron's hands between thumb and forefinger. The hand grasped his fingertip. He lowered his head and touched his lips to Unicron's fingers. He repeated the gesture against the side of his head.

"No." He sighed, "You got me."

His breath made Unicron shudder and rumble,  **Star _scream_**...

Starscream pulled back, half expecting to find a pile of broken pieces. When he didn't, he relaxed again. "Did I hurt you?"

Unicron shook his head. His red optics glowed like gems in the white lighting. **Am I beautiful to you like this, Starscream?**

Starscream cradled the battered Mini-Con protectively to his chest, gazing down at him in complete adoration. He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life than this--the true inner self of someone the rest of the universe considered a monster. "Nothing compares, Unicron. Nothing."

Without a word, Unicron raised his arms and Starscream found himself standing once again in the main chamber. His hands now held Unicron's, or rather, the hands of his avatar.

"I prefer this form. My old body reminds me too much of the past." Unicron said by way of explanation. He glanced up at the stone. "But...I wanted you to know who I really am. I am the first Mini-Con, Starscream. And no matter how large I grow, deep down, I will always be small." His eyes darkened, "Long ago...before I had this body...Primacron violated me in the worst way."

Starscream shuddered. "Your Spark...he...?"

"Yes. And when he left me for dead, I swore that no one would ever hurt me that way again. I--did stop searching for him, however..." He squeezed Starscream's hands, "When I saw how you felt sympathy for Megatron, I realized I couldn't exist on my thirst for revenge forever. There are better things to desire than vindication, and I'm looking at one of them. I almost lost you..."

His face warmed. "Unicron--"

Unicron leaned forward, "I will never forget the way you held me, Starscream. Showing my true form was a question," he looked straight into the Seeker's eyes, his face expressionless, "and you gave the answer I was hoping for. And now that you know my greatest secret, Starscream, I'm asking you to stay."

Starscream's optics misted over as heat shot through his innards, making them feel swollen. "Unicron," he smirked through quivering lips, "Check your memory chips! I clearly recall telling you I'd never leave unless you told me to."

Unicron's eyes shimmered, a flicker of controlled joy. He brought Starscream's hands together, lifted them and touched his lips to each black fingertip. The joy in his eyes became a slow flame hotter than the birth of the universe. "Your answer pleases me."

Then the dark god bent and caught him in a fierce, mind-melting kiss. Nobody kissed like he did. Starscream cupped the back of Unicron's head and their tongues swirled in a silken slide.

"I love you," whispered Starscream between lip locks. Three simple words with the power to heal.

Unicron's lips twitched. He drew back, his ruby eyes glowing in budding arousal.

"Meet me outside."

"What do--"

The avatar faded.

Starscream huffed. As usual, Unicron left him in suspense. He raced down the labyrinth of hallways until he emerged on Unicron's shoulder. Around them, a golden-blue vista, Creation's echo.

The giant shoulder faded into a hand under his chin. Starscream raised his head as Unicron's red optics peered into his. They reflected the universe in all its infinite glory--miniaturized--just like his real self. Unicron stared at him in awe.

"Everything in your eyes is beautiful," he pulled Starscream into another brutal lip lock that trembled in desperation for closeness. "Star _scream_..."

Starscream's Spark ached as he returned the kiss with equal fury. Unicron caressed his new wings, making him arch and cry out, "Tease!"

"No, this..." the dark god leaned over and ran his tongue along Starscream's left wing, "...is teasing."

"Ooh..." Starscream felt his chassis split open, exposing his Spark. It brushed accidentally against Unicron's chest. He hissed in pain, then pleasure. "Ohhh, Unicron...please...I've been running from this for too long. Let's bond...let's make it forever."

All movement stopped. Unicron grasped his shoulders and looked down at him, his perfect face utterly serious. "Are you sure? There is no going back once we begin the process. You will see horrible things that--"

"Wake up and smell the universe! I wouldn't ask if I wasn't sure!" Starscream snapped. He loved Unicron dearly, but sometimes he could get overly metaphorical. He leaned back, letting the universe seep into his sight and consciousness. "I didn't expect love to come out of this, but I wouldn't change a thing if I had to do it over. I  _would_ do it all over if it meant ending up where I am now. So, yes--I'm sure."

Not a word fell from Unicron's lips. He simply lowered his head and opened his chest. The cannon inside shrank and split, exposing his glowing Spark. It throbbed, blackness swirling hither and thither over its surface. Scars, his Spark had  _scars_  because of Primacron.

Reaching out, Starscream gently touched Unicron's Spark. He ached to touch his soul and take away that blackness.

Unicron winced and grabbed his upper arms, halting him. "Slowly, Starscream...this part of me has been hurt the most..." he said it in such a fragile voice. As frail as his real self, so tiny and vulnerable under his huge shell.

"I won't hurt you." Starscream kissed the Spark of his beloved. He tasted Unicron's very essence--all the pain and pride crackling onto his lips. Then he touched his lips to the chamber around it. Unicron arched with a soft gasp.

"I won't  _ever_  hurt you." Starscream repeated. He let his fingers slide down the dark god's glowing abdominals. Unicron planted a hand on his aft and moaned. A real, fully conscious moan that sang his desire to the entire universe. At the same time he trembled, and a haunted look flickered in his optics.

"Unh--Star _scream_."

"Stop me if it's too much. I'll understand."

Unicron nodded slowly and the uneasiness in his posture fell away. He tugged on Starscream's aft until his cone touched his codpiece and hissed under his breath, "I  _need_ you, Starscream...right now..."

 _I need you_. The words shot through Starscream like a red laser, ripping open a well of arousal that nearly knocked him offline. It made him fall all over again--and this time he wasn't afraid.

"Then stop fooling around and take me." He nipped the Chaos-bringer's bottom lip, nuzzling the soft spot underneath before delving into the world between his fangs. "My Spark is yours."

The words resonated in the emptiness. While they didn't wipe away the past, they did open a gateway to the immediate future--and in it Starscream saw himself wrapped in Unicron's arms. He wanted that future. This was the place where he fell in love--he could still remember the exact moment his feelings changed...how it all snuck up on him--and in his mind there was no better place bring their feelings full circle.

Starscream let Unicron link their ports and pull him forward. Their eyes were locked as if their gaze alone was intercourse. The first touch of their Sparks sent static spitting between them. Primus, Unicron felt so  _good_...Starscream sighed as their consciousnesses collided like two waves fighting to occupy the same ocean. He lost himself in the foam and noise, his mind drowning in a whirlpool of emotions.

Low moans escaped Unicron's throat. Not even he, with all his unflappable composure, could remain silent in the face of such closeness. His optics widened and his lips pulled off his fangs. Starscream kissed his mouth and it opened, letting him taste the smoothness within.

There they hung, port to port, Spark to Spark and lips to lips, one being in the middle of Creation.

Everything flowed smoothly into Starscream's memories--short because of his shorter lifetime--and Starscream showed Unicron the beautiful things first. How it felt to paint, dance and race the wind. The beauty of sunsets, nebulae and a lover's kiss as  _he_  felt it. Just that memory made Unicron pant in need.

He followed with darker memories--the destruction of his Primus painting, Megatron's abuse, the ridicule and the accusations of sleeping his way to such high ranks in the Decepticon army. Megatron promoted him to keep him close.

Sometimes, after Megatron used him, he drank himself into stasis. Sometimes he showed up to his master in a stupor, and woke up dented, scratched and battered. Sometimes he dreamed of cold red eyes and a fanged smile.

Starscream opened himself utterly so Unicron could see the attraction he once had for Megatron. Megatron commissioned him for a portrait...but he didn't know how to pose. His face kept missing the light. Starscream finally took his chin and turned his head for him--casting it into the sun so all its beauty could shine forth. Normally he didn't do things like that, back in those days he was so painfully shy that he didn't like crowds or even being near other people. The moment his thumb accidentally touched those soft, round lips, Starscream unwittingly became Megatron's prey.

Initially, Megatron just beat him up when he made mistakes. His punishments for even minor discrepancies were more severe than his fellow officers.

The first sexual encounter--Starscream tried to cringe away from it, but Unicron wouldn't let him.

**Give it to me, Starscream.**

It happened years after he joined the Decepticons. He made the mistake of telling another soldier that he didn't think Megatron ran on all his pistons. The statement got back to Megatron, who immediately called him in. His office was red...exactly the same color as Starscream's body after the reformatting. Starscream went to his leader ready to explain what he said was a joke--then it all happened in flashes.

Megatron's hungry eyes tracing his body. Hands brushing his wings. Lips near his audio sensor. Fingertips moving towards his cone. Megatron above him, rocking, energon staining his fangs. The betrayal hurt more than anything...being treated as a toy by the person he trusted to guide and protect him throughout the ugly war.

Ever since that night...he tried desperately  _not_  to give Megatron an excuse to call him into a "private meeting". Megatron, however, sent him out on missions he couldn't possibly accomplish--looking back on it now made Starscream realize Megatron did this intentionally.

_So he could put all the blame on me. I failed, so I had to pay. He set me up. He set me up!_

Oily streams poured down Starscream's cheeks. He felt himself lifting away from the memories. That time was over now...he was free and in the arms of someone who loved him. He would never suffer that humiliation again, and he had the golden god in his arms to thank for that.

"Thank you," Starscream smiled and clung to his liberator, caught between the emptiness of his past and the fullness of his future. He gazed into his red eyes and felt a coldness reach into his consciousness.

**This will be ugly, Starscream. My past--**

_I'll face it with you. Whatever happens, Unicron, I'm here_.

Starscream felt Unicron pull him around corners, through locked doors and across icy canyons. He found himself off at a distance in a darkened cavern, watching Unicron's original self walk up to a tall, willowy mech. This being was solid black and wore a strange cloak--his face stayed deeply in shadow. He appeared to just flow from one place to another, a graceful walk of liquid hate.

Unicron only stood knee high to this taller being. He took ten steps for each of his master's strides.

_That's Primacron?_

**Yes...**  Unicron replied softly.

Starscream took Unicron's hand, comfortingly.

 _"Open your legs, little one. It's time to reward you for that excellent energon mix."_  Primacron's hissing voice reminded Starscream of a snake.

And tiny Unicron obeyed without question or protest. No light shone in his optics. He moved like a mechanical doll.

Primacron extended a jack from his codpiece. It was shaped similar to the jacks human used to connect headphones to a walkman. He plunged it into Unicron's port. The shocks he delivered made the smaller mech convulse in obvious pain. Primacron took his fill. When it was over, Unicron got up and went back to work measuring the chemical compositions of an unidentified rock. Primacron knelt beside him, just watching, that disgusting piece of his anatomy gleaming in the light.

_"You're so stupid, you don't even know what just transpired. Poor little creation."_

The view shifted to Primacron holding a glowing sphere in his black palm. His matte coloring reflected none of its sparkling light. Starscream finally got a glimpse of his face--deep purple eyes, jagged cheeks and a thin, fanged smile. The black mech's fingers were long, almost tentacles. He used one to trace Unicron's mouth and waved the Spark in front of his tiny red optics.

 _"Look, a permanent energy source. My idiot brother actually offered this to me as a bribe to stop causing chaos throughout the cosmos. Oh, yes..."_  Primacron licked the sphere, tainting it even before it had a chance at innocence, and pushed it into Unicron's open chest.

Unicron's optics gained new light. It was subtle, the difference between a dull stone and a polished one. Starscream sensed a flood of sensation, awareness and emotions that had no names.

The first thing that new consciousness felt was brutal rape.

That was all Unicron knew.

Primacron's favorite time to do it was while Unicron recharged--he'd just climb on and wake him up with his disgusting act. Starscream recalled the time he sleep-overloaded Unicron...and remorse misted in his optics.

 _I'm sorry_.

**You could not have known then, Starscream. I know you wouldn't have if you _did_  know.**

You're right. I wouldn't have.

Then, one time, Primacron dropped a container that shattered all over the stone floor. Unicron actually giggled, a sound like chimes struck in rapid succession. He hurried over to pick up the mess and became entranced by how light sparkled off the broken edges.

 **Master, it's beautiful! Look, it sparkles.**  Unicron repeated what he said in the memory.

Another flash--Primacron petting Unicron like a kitten while he rested in his lap.

 _"You are the most precious thing I own."_  The black mech whispered.

And Unicron laid there, so horrendously confused. If he was so precious, why did his master hurt him?

Then Unicron pulled the visions back. He curled himself around Starscream, embracing him harder against his chest. His wing array arched forward like a protective cage around them both and his full lips pressed into a tight line, halting Starscream's kiss.

 _You can do it, Unicron,_  Starscream pressed his forehead to Unicron's cheek.  _Give it all to me_.

 **Starscream...**  Unicron's mouth quivered,  **it's so dark...**

Starscream sent him a weak port pulse.  _I'm right here_.

The images came back disjointed. Starscream saw Primacron examining Unicron's Spark with various tools, heedless of the tiny bot's pained cries. He managed to cut the Spark in half without extinguishing it. He stuck his fingers in it, drinking off the pleasure.

Many memories showed them in that position--dark fingers violating a tiny Spark. Sometimes the experiments left Unicron unconscious for days, and Primacron just let him lie where he fell.

And he endured that for  _ten million years_.

Starscream literally felt the moment when Unicron realized he had free will. An epiphany in time where Primacron gave the order to lay down and Unicron asked himself a simple question:  _"Why?"_

Thusly, Unicron began to shy away from Primacron's touch, though Primacron easily shoved him down and had his fun.

"Master, why do you hurt me?"

"Pain is your purpose."

"You made me to hurt?"

"Yes."

"But I--UNH! Can I just go look at the stars instead?"

"No. You will please me."

"...yes, master."

And then came the fateful moment...Unicron didn't give away when exactly it happened.

_"Come here, my little pet."_

Unicron froze in place, his tiny hands clutching a beaker of newly mixed energon. The liquid rippled in the container as the hands holding it trembled. Unicron had connected those words with pain. And in his miniscule intelligence, he thought he could make it stop.

 _"No."_  He giggled and ran away with the beaker.

Primacron snagged him in his long fingers.  _"What did you say?"_

_"No. It feels bad, master. I don't want to do it anymore, okay?"_

And Primacron slammed him down. The beaker flew out of Unicron's hand and shattered on the wall, the energon forming rivulets on the glistening gray rock. Reflected in the streams were broken images of frail limbs flailing and a master dominating his slave.

Starscream almost looked away. He saw how those long fingers marred Unicron's beauty, and how Unicron struggled.

Memories flooded by one after the other, the same image over and over...until Unicron stopped fighting back.

Unicron wouldn't show the torture, but Starscream felt the terror of it. Like black strangulation looping around his body in tight steel coils until he couldn't move even a fingertip...pain in his eyes, Spark and port...an acid voice telling him how worthless he was.

Primacron punished Unicron for showing emotion. At first Unicron defied him by playing in secret. Then Primacron caught him and locked him in a void--literally, a subspace void. Unicron screamed and cried for months in that thing. Primacron would randomly enter to perform sexual acts so depraved that Starscream wanted to crash the memory and strangle him.

Starscream wept.  _Unicron...oh, Primus,_ and he kissed him, trying to erase a horror beyond his reach. Unicron trembled in his arms, his intakes taking steady breaths.

**When I realized no one would come for me...I decided enough was enough. I was hoping to die when I fought back. At that time I did not know what death was...I just knew I wanted it.**

Unicron cast light into another niche in time. It swelled across the golden Mini-Con's face as it twisted in pure rage. He took a handheld cutting tool to Primacron's uplink jack, a move that left his master screaming in agony.

Primacron beat Unicron within an inch of his life. He kicked him across the room, threw him through walls and stomped his face until his optics shattered. Now blind, Unicron went back to being compliant--Primacron didn't repair his optics--so he was in eternal darkness...forced to repair the damage he caused and then take it into his mouth until it ejaculated electricity down his throat.

 _"Do you know why I hate you, toy?"_ Primacron lifted Unicron by the throat, _"Because you lack intelligence. You will never amount to more than this. I made you for this, to fulfill my endless hunger. Don't even think about trying to be more. You should be grateful to me for giving you life."_

But Unicron continued to defy his master at every turn. Primacron's rage towards him grew. He began experimenting on his Spark again--going so far as to inject chemicals and emotions just to watch it change color. When he added hatred, Unicron released his first telekinetic blast. It sent Primacron through a wall. He sensed Primacron raising a hand and his memory blanked. He awoke curled in a ball. A heavy impact brought pain, heat, screeching sounds and utter terror--then nothing.

Starscream drew back a little. Tears floated around his face like baubles. In front of him, Unicron stared ahead through unseeing optics. He was as still as death and his armor just as cold.

 _Unicron,_  Starscream brushed his mouth across Unicron's jaw. He didn't let the lack of a response bother him,  _we're almost there. You're doing it, Unicron_.

The corners of Unicron's mouth twitched. He squeezed Starscream's hand. They descended again beneath the waves.

How Unicron built Welder without eyesight became a miracle in Starscream's eyes. He felt the joy and relief of no longer being alone. He heard the little hisses and whistles of Welder's voice. Gentle hands took away his pain. And then one day he looked up and  _saw_.

Starscream got a better look at Welder. The tiny white bot had dim eyes like Unicron did before he gained a Spark. His intelligence was very basic, and he clearly took delight in every colorful thing he saw. He knew neither fear nor pain. Sometimes he tried to play with Unicron--but Unicron rarely engaged him. He liked to watch instead and his eyes were always sad.

As time slipped by, the two of them built more Mini-Cons. First two, then ten, then hundreds.

Unicron experienced horrible headaches that his children soothed with calming songs. Welder was always the one who held him and patted his cheeks.

**The pain was my power raging to the surface. Changing the planet around me became the only way to gain relief...so I built, layer by layer...**

Starscream experienced the pounding ache in his forehead, agony like something trying to burst through his helm. He spotted Swindle and Leader One in the throng of Mini-Cons helping Unicron shape his prison.

Unicron had seizures as his Spark increased in size. His abilities raged out of control and the planetary core around him melted slowly into the layered stone that made up his heart. The planet literally restructured itself on the molecular level. The memory flashed to Unicron turning the optics of his giant body on for the first time. Initially, his new form consumed vast amounts of power--he needed sustenance. He ate asteroids, then small comets and finally--planets. His sophisticated ring array meant he could see even in the darkest regions of space--allowing no one to sneak up on him.

Starscream sensed Unicron's hesitation. He touched his face, turning it so their gazes met. Tears now floated near the dark god's optics. They joined Starscream's in the darkness.

 _Show me_ that _day, Unicron._

**S-Star _scream_...I don't think I--**

_Yes! Yes you can! You have to...you said yourself that nothing's worse than pain you can't release. Well, I'm here, I'm listening._  Starscream brought their foreheads into contact and spoke aloud, "You've kept this for too long. Now come on! Don't tell me you're afraid."

 _That_  certainly had the agitating effect he wanted. Unicron narrowed his optics and their shared vision re-congealed.

Welder fell off Unicron's huge body the day it happened. He'd been playing and accidentally jettisoned himself into space. Unicron spent three days searching for him. He found the little mech swimming happily around in the void, oblivious to the trouble he was in. Unicron sent him to his core and brought his smallest avatar form online. He seethed because his creation wasn't intelligent enough to realize he was in danger. The dull look and joyful smile only angered him more.

Didn't Welder know something evil might hurt him? Didn't he realize the horrible things that happened in the dark? Rape happened in the dark. Ugly touching happened in the dark. Disgusting actions were born in the dark.

Welder kept on smiling. He hopped on one foot and folded his hands behind his head. He twittered something about how much fun he had doing flips in zero gravity.

Unicron lashed out with his fist. He struck like a rattlesnake. Welder dropped without a sound, his head twisted at an odd angle.

The rage left Unicron immediately. Horror turned his fuel pumps to ice. He knelt, cradling the tiny white mech in his arms.

"Oh no! Oh...no...I'm sorry. Welder, I'll repair you! Don't move...I'll repair you!"

Welder looked up with flickering optics. Tears flowed down his pale cheeks. His smile disappeared, stolen by pain. For the first and only time, he spoke in words, and the words he said made Starscream's Spark ache:

_"Father, why did you hurt me?"_

Then the light left his eyes forever. Sparkling azure became dull obsidian.

 _" **Welder!** "_ Unicron screamed--it was strange to hear someone normally composed raise his voice so high. The sound was like a wounded animal. He clutched Welder to his chest, howling as if he himself took the terrible blow.

 **Welder...my Welder...**  Unicron moaned, **Star _scream_...**

Starscream kissed his quivering mouth. He opened himself to catch the overflowing pain bleeding from Unicron's essence.

The other Mini-Cons rushed Unicron. They punched and kicked at his avatar until it faded. Then they surrounded the body of their brother, weeping in minor chords because one note of their melody was missing. Their first sentient memory encircled a complete misunderstanding.

Images flew by in rapid succession--Mini-Cons leaving Unicron's body in glowing green droves, escaping into parts unknown.

Then he and Unicron plunged into another ocean. This one a wild, stormy sea, gold in color and tasting remarkably like mech tears. Starscream struggled to stay afloat in the chaos of pain. He saw a single icy island in the distance. Sitting upon it was a square, metal building--a lone prison cell. Waves battered the structure.

 _No!_ Starscream swam to the island and vaulted onto the slippery ice. He plodded to the door, pounding on it with a sore fist.  _Unicron!_

 **I can't...**  Unicron trembled.  **I haven't opened the door in so long...**

_Why?_

**His memory, I--don't want to forget.**

Unicron's voice sounded so broken. The composure he always had was blown completely away. As if he'd shattered and his pieces went flying to all corners of the universe.

The realization crashed over Starscream in sparkling clarity. Unicron thought letting go meant forgetting.

 _No!_  Starscream kicked the door, screaming.  _He would forgive you if he knew...he loved you, he looked up to you!_

 **I HURT him!**  roared Unicron, and his words made the air even colder.  **My children have no Sparks, nothing to live on once they die. When a Mini-Con dies, they are _gone_ , Starscream.**

 _Oh, don't be stupid!_ He leaned his forehead on the unforgiving metal, each exhalation of his intakes making fog in the frigid air.  _He still lives in you, Unicron. You made him. You remember him. But you exist in the moment of his death instead of the many moments he lived. Let go of his death and remember his life. Don't be an idiot about this...I can forgive you for it, and so would he if he could. Do you think someone that happy would want to see you destroy yourself over him?_

I've failed everything I have ever loved...

Starscream rattled the door handle.  _You didn't fail me! Loving someone isn't without risk! We don't choose who we love, love chooses us, and the only choice we have is whether or not to act on it! And we're acting on it--and look, the universe hasn't blown up. We'll be okay, Unicron. You don't have to wear a mask for me. I won't punish you for showing emotion. I_ want _to see more emotion from you, Unicron._ He kicked the door again, desperate to get inside. _Please...let me in_...

Silence. A silence that stretched on so long that Starscream wondered if Unicron actually died inside the cell.

The ice began to crack. Unicron's pain threatened to consume him. What would he become if he drowned in his tears? He was dying, emotionally.

Starscream refused to let Unicron go. He doubled his efforts.  _Unicron! How in the PIT can you ramble about strength and choice, and then sit there in the dark? Open this Primus-forsaken door!_

**This is all I have known.**

_I'm not going to sit here and watch you die in there!_

Chunks of ice broke away. Starscream clung to the bars on the door and pressed his forehead to his clenched fists. Desperate tears skittered down his face.

 _Let me in, Unicron. I don't care how messed up you look...you saved me when you were the one who needed it more. Let me return the favor_.

More silence.

Starscream gritted his teeth in frustration.

Suddenly, light penetrated the dimness--Starscream looked for the source, only to realize  _he_  had become the sun. He heard old hinges creak and stepped away from the door as it opened slowly inward. Brilliant illumination flooded a place that hadn't seen the sun in eons.

There crouched Unicron...a rusted, scarred metal gargoyle covered in chains and cobwebs. He strained towards the new warmth and the heavy chains fell away one by one. Each was heavier than the last. His lips parted in wonder, the same look he had the first time he saw rain.

 _I can't do this part for you._  The Seeker held out a brilliantly glowing hand.  _It's time to let go, Unicron. You saved me from my prison, now I'm helping you escape yours. You have to reach out, or I can't help you. I know nobody came to your rescue when you most needed it, but..._ he smiled,  _better late than never, right?_

Unicron hung his head. He had no optics, his face had rusted almost completely off. His fingers groped aimlessly, clutching at darkness.

**Where are you?**

Starscream extended his glowing hand towards Unicron's dirty, eroded one.  _I'm right in front of you_.

Wordlessly, Unicron found and grasped Starscream's hand. Starscream guided him gently outside. The instant they emerged, the rust, grime and ugliness on Unicron's body melted in a burst of warmth, restoring him to his former golden glory--

"S-Starscream... _unh_...Star _scream_...Ohhh..."

Their Sparks were almost merged. Pleasure raced over their bodies.

"Mmh, shh, you're okay..."

\--and the prison cell fell through the ice. Forever lost in a sea of tears. It disappeared without a sound.

Starscream's glow diminished, returning him to his normal colors. Unicron clutched his hand as he gazed around at the wild ocean.

The first thing Unicron did was tackle Starscream into the snow and lock their ports together. He kissed him fiercely, lips, teeth and tongue delving for closeness. His liquid invasion turned Starscream's mind to mush.

 **Thank you,**  Unicron whispered. He said it over and over between lip locks. Their mouths met in divine kisses. Starscream's fingers clawed at the ice, leaving furrows that spelled out his passion.

The ocean around them stirred in the fury of a new storm. Swells merged and spewed multicolored foam. Hot waves washed up and coated Starscream head to toe in oily mech fluid. Hotter waves--this time sensation--covered his insides in a tingling feeling beyond overload. His mind and body arched in simultaneous pleasure. He'd been baptized in a god's tears. The wounds his Spark sustained in life were cleansed, allowing him to finally find release.

**We are about to bond forever...are you ready?**

_Yes_.

Light flooded into their shared reality. The line between god and mortal disappeared and would never be seen again.

Starscream hung in a pregnant moment between life, death, awareness and oblivion. Unicron looked like eternity opening itself completely to him.

The sun Starscream had been reappeared in the sky. Its lover, the moon, moved forward to cover it. Light and dark were united as the sun's corona burst into the blackness. Reality became a surge of sensation, feeling, overlapping memory flashes and Unicron's crimson optics loving him.

Starscream ascended beyond his body and mind and floated into a pure white plane. Unicron stood before him and something wicked twinkled in his eye.

You've always wanted to see the Big Bang.

 _Y-yes_... Starscream was so close, the slightest tremble, even a breath, would send him reeling over the razor's edge.

 **It's one thing to see it...you're about to feel it.** He interlocked their fingers, a smug smirk tugging his mouth. Only the tremble in his wing array betrayed his arousal. **Enjoy the fireworks, Starscream.**

The whiteness shriveled to a single point in the center of their joined Sparks and burst in a superheated bubble.

Unicron wasn't lying when he said Starscream would feel it. He felt it blast over, through, above and under him, filling him to the brim with a tingling ache that chased away his emptiness and poured back out as orgasmic cries. All that the universe was and would be touched every atom of his being. He was Unicron, Unicron was him and they were one in the middle of creation.

"Star _scream_ ," Unicron whispered, "Star _scream_ , my love...our love...it's..."

"Yes?" Starscream panted, "It's what?"

Unicron's face clenched and his optics glowed almost white. He threw his head back, let his mouth fall open and moaned, " _freedom!_ "

Nothing meant more to Starscream than seeing Unicron's newborn liberation spread its wings for the first time. He found himself wrapped in Unicron's arms and wing array, and the softly groaning mouth pressed against his cheek offered gratitude that no words could express. Unicron rubbed the side of his own face and electricity followed his fingertips. He moaned...he  _moaned_ and it sounded like music. Spasms wracked his body. His full lips puckered and shivered. He did not care how he looked or sounded--he'd let himself feel his overload in all its glory. And in the middle of it all, he met Starscream's eyes with a smoldering look of love, devotion and eternal gratitude--a look meant for no one else.

Their rudimentary bond was so potent that Unicron's pleasure became Starscream's. Starscream overloaded again--a soft one because he was so spent--and sparks flew when their open mouths crashed together in a sloppy, primitive kiss.

Unicron sagged as his orgasm dwindled. He interlocked their fingers, pressed his lips against the Seeker's audio sensor and growled, "Star _scream_..."

That growl was the sexiest moment of Starscream's life. He could hear the satisfaction and relief. All around them hung a vast universe of choices, and  _he_  was the one Unicron chose.

Previously invisible gas rippled to life, excited by the energy they released. Starscream watched the dull red glow spread outward like a pond ripple.

He felt his Spark retreat back into its chamber. His chest clicked back to its proper shape. Though their Sparks had parted, he still sensed pieces of Unicron inside him. His processors lagged as his mainframe integrated the new data strings into its registry. While he waited, he allowed his mind to wander through a mental museum of his art. He paused at  _Freedom_ , his self portrait--and suddenly he knew how to make it complete.

Unicron's face slowly reassumed its characteristic apathy, but his eyes were  _alive_. He tipped Starscream's chin up and devoured his lips. Starscream opened his mouth and their tongues danced a slow waltz.

"Mm," Unicron purred, "You are inspired. I feel it."

"Yeah...I can feel you feeling it." And what a queer sensation that was, being aware of the emotions Unicron used to offer in faint glimpses. "But, Unicron, I want to surprise you with this one."

"Why?"

Shaking his head, Starscream leaned on Unicron's chest and watched the ignited gas swirl. Beyond it, lost in the galactic throng billions of light years away, was the world where it all began. He'd come a monumental distance...so far from that old life.

 _Does the universe have a border?_  he asked himself.

 **Of course,**  Unicron had to butt in,  **the edge of the universe is an edge in time. It can't be seen or reached.**

_Fine, then, you all-knowing bastard...will this universe end?_

**You know, I really don't know.**

_Ah-ha!_

Unicron smothered him in a lip lock.  **Smart-aft.**

Starscream broke the kiss and used his bottom lip to trace one of Unicron's facial stripes. _How do we know this isn't the first time we've existed and loved each other? What if each new universe gives us a chance to fix mistakes we made the last time?_

 **Being born again and again. Hm...**  he drew back and bumped Starscream's nose with his own.  **You know, Starscream, there isn't just one universe.**

Arching an optic ridge, Starscream leaned forward and spoke out loud, "What? There's a mirror version of myself out there?"

**Perhaps.**

_Hmph_. "Then what's the point of universes being created again and again? There's already a million of me! And you..."

Starscream felt Unicron cup the back of his head. As usual his expression remained schooled, save for the amusement flickering in his optics. "I can see through the eyes of all versions of me, thanks to Primacron tainting my Spark with his filth. Each time you make a choice, I can see every outcome...except for our love. That one slipped under the radar."

That made Starscream chuckle. "Then why not find a reality where Welder is--"

"He dies in every single one."

"Oh...then what about me?"

The corners of his mouth turned slightly down.

Dread left a cold itch in Starscream's belly. "Will I..."

"You already did. I returned your other body to the moon--so technically...legally...you're dead." Unicron's lips twitched and his fangs glimmered. He looked away. "In other planes, I die emotionally. All I do is hate....and in every single other universe but this one...it is me that takes your life."

"You  _what_?"

"That is what makes  _this_  existence so fantastic, Starscream!" Unicron leaned forward, "You  _saved_  me from becoming that monster. You saved me, you saved yourself, you may have saved this universe from what I almost became."

Talking about multiple universes made Starscream's logic circuits ache. Unicron could out-talk him on the subject too easily. He tipped his head back and gazed at the glistening filaments swimming in the silent void.  _Are all of his other selves born the same way?_

Not  _all_. Like the universe where I disguise myself as Cybertron's moon...I'm not even a Mini-Con in that one--I'm Dark. Ooh, I really don't like that version of me. He's--how shall I put it?--a bully. He created the Mini-Cons to escalate the war and fed off the negative energy between both factions to gain the power I learned to use on my own. There's more, but it'd take eons to tell you everything.

Starscream rolled his optics, a gesture he picked up from Alexis. He caught himself, recalled her doing it and smiled to himself.

Oh, did I mention that Megatron--he renames himself Galvatron--sacrifices himself rather nobly? Pity that it he had to do it twice...but that's an even longer story that I'd rather not get into.

"Are you serious?"

 **Mmhmm.** The amused way Unicron squinted made Starscream's Spark dance in its chamber. **He finds redemption in almost every universe in which he exists, and in every universe Optimus carries love for him in his Spark. They don't always end up together...but there are some things rooted so deeply that they happen to all versions of a single self. Funny how that works.**

"Boy, this is giving me a headache--hey, since when did you get off on butting into rhetorical questions?"

"You brought up the topic."

"Gimme a break!" Starscream snapped, but smiled immediately after. Deep down, he was glad  _this_  universe gave them a happy ending. "Well, if this universe does end, Unicron...I hope it blows up again. Maybe next time I'll be the giant and you--oh, wait..."

Unicron melted him in a liquid-hot kiss. "And you accuse  _me_  of being nonsensical?"

"You're rubbing off on me." Starscream laughed into his mouth. It amazed him how a simple conversation brought him such...joy. For the first time in his life he was truly _happy_. "Hey! I think this is the longest conversation we've had since we met!"

But Unicron didn't join in the laughter. His stoic expression didn't change, though Starscream noticed his stunning red eyes drinking in his smile. He felt Unicron grasp his chin and gently level their optics. "If it pleases you, I won't watch."

"What?"

"The painting you want to finish. I will grant you privacy."

Then Unicron let his illusion fade away and Starscream stood on a silver hand so large its edge became a horizon. Images of the universe glided across his ruby optics. Unicron looked around like he was seeing it for the first time.

Because, Starscream realized, he  _was_.

Unicron's reflection filled Starscream's silver eyes. His angular face took up the entire view...so huge...yet behind that face, underneath that immense power, was a tiny being he could crush in his fist. Cosmic irony indeed.

"Hey, Unicron?"

**Yes?**

Starscream hugged himself. "I need to visit Cybertron."


	10. 10: FINALE

Cybertron hadn't changed much in a century, but Starscream wasn't paying attention to the view. He stood in a darkened room barely large enough to accommodate a recharge berth, let alone the desk wedged into one corner. A figure was slumped over the desk, which looked crammed with archeology equipment and data pads. Everything had been arranged in piles, so while the desk was full, it wasn't messy.

One data pad held a partially composed personal log entry. Starscream picked it up.

_Day 43 - 500, 0100 hours--_

_Unbelievable news! The tunnels beneath Cybertron's surface aren't just a legend! I walked one myself less than an hour before I sat down to write this. It's fantastic...the walls are covered in ancient texts that I can't wait to translate. I'm sure the remains of the first Cybertronians are located somewhere within those tunnels._

_I also wonder, foolishly, if the texts contain answers to the mysterious Mini-Con rapture I witnessed yesterday. I have never seen anything like it! Every Mini-Con stopped in their tracks, looked towards the east and sang a mysterious song…and then they all collapsed in the throes of a sexual overload. All at once at exactly the same time. Now they seem to be waiting for something. But what?_

_Bah, I'm not sober enough to think about this. I know, I know, habitual over energizing on cheap energon is bad for the fuel cells...but if I don't drink, I think, and if I think I fall back into depression...Optimus can keep me away from the cubes, however, when he isn't here, I have no desire NOT to drink. So here I am in my own personal Pit, drowning my sorrows. I can't even decide yet whether or not I want to participate in Cyclonus and Demolishor's ninety-ninth bonding anniversary party. They are so happy together--my presence is more likely to spoil the celebration than add to it. Perhaps I shouldn't go. I'll send an apology--say that I'm mired in work. They'll understand._

_...I can not stop thinking about how walking that underground corridor made me feel closer to Primus. And, as preposterous as it sounds, I prayed while I was there. A silly, stupid part of me thinks Primus might hear me if I'm right in his proverbial ear._

_It has been a century and I can't let it go. I work so hard to prevent myself from thinking about it, but working can only distract me for so long. It's those annoying hours right before dawn that I often relive the moment I found his body. He was just lying there on that ridge on the moon. My best soldier...I destroyed him. I_ \--

Starscream winced inwardly at the pain woven into the last paragraph. He let his gaze shift to Megatron. The sleeping mech's gray face was pulled in an expression of unease, as if the past tormented his dreams. He slept with his head cradled on one folded arm. His other hand rested next to the energon container he was drinking from when he fell into recharge. He poisoned himself with the cheapest energon--high on tar and no nutritional value at all. Yuck, his innards were probably coated in sticky black engine sludge.

Reflections of fangs peeking through relaxed lips flickered across Starscream's optics. Megatron always had a beautiful mouth.

Bots with full lips like Megatron, Cyclonus, Demolishor and Unicron, were often stereotyped as more virile than the "average" population. Smaller mouths like Starscream's or even Optimus had the opposite connotation--attractive, but innocent and virginal. Of course, Starscream knew now that these stereotypes weren't always true. And, for one idle instant, he wondered if Cyclonus and Demolishor learned how to  _really_  kiss.

Megatron's optics flickered.

Casting his thoughts to the dark, Starscream reached out and touched his former leader's hand. "Hey."

Megatron jolted upright. "What the--who...?"

"You're dreaming," Starscream whispered. A lie, but one more likely to spare Megatron's sanity.

"...Starscream?" Megatron stared at him. His red optics glowed dimly in the dark. "You look like..."

"I know," he held his former leader's gaze, happy, but not smiling. "Megatron, stop punishing yourself."

Pain etched itself into Megatron's tired features. "I can't just forget what I've done!  _Primus_ , Starscream, most of your life I--"

"I'm not saying it was okay, but I want you to stop dwelling on it. I--didn't die alone. I died in the arms of someone I love." Starscream spared a glance at the horned figure standing silently behind Megatron's chair. "I  _forgive_  you."

Megatron's eyes misted over and relief blossomed in his expression. Like Unicron, he'd been trapped in a single hiccup in time--a prisoner dying for someone to open the door and break his chains.

"Are you...happy?"

"Yeah," this time Starscream did smile. "And I want you to be happy, too, so stop drinking yourself into stasis and focus on what you have now. Heh...archeology..."

His former leader cast a sidelong glance at his desk and nudged one of the tools with his thumb. He didn't notice the shadow Unicron cast over his arm. "The subject always fascinated me. Now that I'm not locked in my old programming, I'm free to study it. Optimus has a teaching position in Cybertron City. History--we both love history."

Starscream didn't miss the way talking about Optimus made Megatron's eyes glow.

Megatron sighed, wistful, "I still don't know what he sees in me. Sometimes I feel like he could do so much better than--"

"No," Starscream cut him off, "He could have taken another lover any time between the war's beginning and end, but he didn't. He waited for  _you_. And I have a sneaking suspicion your first kiss after so long felt sinfully good..."

Megatron's smile became a fanged grin, "It certainly did."

Boldly, Starscream brushed his fingertip across Megatron's lips. "You're beautiful now, Megatron. This is how I want to remember you."

He felt Megatron clasp his hand and move it slightly away from his mouth. "Can Primus forgive what I've done, Starscream?"

Starscream grinned and the low light caught his silver optics, "He already has."

The corners of Megatron's eyes grew misty. He squeezed Starscream's hand, stood up and suddenly embraced him.

"You were my most beautiful soldier. You--you were more worthy to be in my army than I was." Megatron whispered, his voice as soft and insubstantial as a shadow, "I respected you. I was terrible to you...I was horrible and jealous...but I always respected you. And I never realized this until..." he cupped the back of Starscream's head, shivering, "I held you just like this for hours, asking Primus to forgive me. You were so cold and lifeless..."

"Sometimes you have to lose something to realize what it means to you."

Megatron held him tighter. "Your companionship meant  _everything_ , Starscream...I'm so sorry."

The sun came up. Its first rays burst through the window and shone across the embracing mechs. Megatron was dull and dusty in Starscream's polished, brilliant arms.

Something in Starscream's Spark--his last glimmer of hatred towards Megatron--dwindled to nothing so fast that it left a hot, aching tightness in the middle of his chest. There were still scars, there would always be scars, but the wounds themselves were healed.

"Megatron..." Mech fluid welled in the Seeker's optics. Millennia ago, he would have done anything for a moment like this from his leader...except at that time he never knew Megatron's Spark already belonged to another. And, back then, he didn't have Unicron. He smiled over Megatron's shoulder at the golden god by the window. Unicron's optics softened almost imperceptibly, as if he, too, found peace in the same instant.

"Stop living in the hour of my death, Megatron. Remember me like this. If I said to do it for me, would that make a difference?"

He felt Megatron smile and kiss his audio input sensor. "Fine, I'll do it for you."

Then the moment was over. The sun continued its march skyward and the light it cast moved to the floor.

Starscream stepped gingerly from Megatron's embrace. He looked straight into his optics, gentle silver reflecting warm red. "Good...now, wake up."

"Wake--"

Unicron gently touched the side of Megatron's neck. Megatron slumped back into the chair, his expression no longer troubled.

"That went easier than I expected," Unicron remarked.

Chuckling, Starscream joined him behind the chair.

Megatron sat up and looked around--everywhere but behind him. He snatched up the data pad and erased the last paragraph, replacing it with hurried strokes:

_...and Primus answered my prayer. I can go on. I can let it go--for him_.

Tires squealed outside. Megatron craned his neck to see out the window. There was no question as to who just arrived, judging by how his optics lit up. Nothing in the universe was more stunning than seeing someone greet the love of their life. He got up so fast the chair spun completely around and waited anxiously by the door.

Starscream smiled up at Unicron.  _Everything is okay now_.

Unicron arched an optic ridge.  **You don't want to visit the museum?**

_Nah. Who wants to go stare at pictures a dead guy painted?_

The dark god rumbled in amusement.  **People with good taste.**

Just before Unicron whisked him away, Starscream saw Optimus pull Megatron into a fiery kiss.

"You've been drinking again," Optimus chided gently.

"Mm, I'm going to quit right now." And, pointedly, Megatron cemented his rebirth by reaching behind him and knocking the energon container into the rubbish bin. "Say, Optimus...can you spare any wax?"

"Wax? Why?"

"I feel like going to a party."

.o

Silent music cascaded like waves through his body. He did not move with it--it moved him. It compelled each emotion bubbling as color from his fingertips. Every atom of his being told him this was right.

Starscream worked for  _days_  on his most precious project. He loved it so much that he was a little sad when he fingered in the last drop of color. For him, the joy came in the process, not the actual finished product...though sharing it offered its own reward. Like oil filling in a truffle, or grease on a flux cake.

But the moment he finished was an empty one, like saying goodbye to a friend who promised to write a letter every day. There were no missed shadows, no blank spots, no misplaced highlights--the painting was complete and needed nothing more from him.

Standing back, Starscream hung in awed silence to enjoy his last few seconds alone with his project. Did he really paint that? Where did he find it in him to create something so...beautiful? A selfish part of him wanted to hide this labor of love away again and not let anyone see it, because people seeing it meant it was done, the mystery was dashed. He snorted and quickly cast that foolish notion aside. Jewels like this were  _meant_  to be shared.

He was about to call Unicron's attention, but Unicron spoke first.

**Starscream, something incredible is happening.**

He sounded breathless, like he was looking at something he couldn't believe.

Starscream sensed Unicron's bewilderment through their bond.  _What's going on out there? Where are we?_

**In the comet belt surrounding Earth's solar system. Stand still, I'll bring you out.**

Nodding, Starscream let Unicron nip him back into reality. He raced down the corridors until he emerged outside. Unicron was in planet mode, his massive ring array stretching horizon to horizon like a shiny metal rainbow in the blackness. The gravity his mass generated pushed the icy comets out of his path.

"Unicron, there's nothing here! What gives?"

The ground rumbled like an earthquake. Panels shifted, artificial mountains shot up and metal canyons broke open.

"Hey!" Starscream jettisoned himself a safe distance from the controlled chaos. It took a few minutes, considering the mech changing shape was the size of Jupiter. Who did Unicron think he was, initiating his transformation sequence without warning...rude! "Do you MIND?"

Unicron didn't answer. Starscream sobered--he hadn't watched Unicron transform in a long time, and it was truly an awe inspiring sight. It took seven minutes for Unicron to attain his robot form.

"Unicron, what in Primus' name is going on?"

"Their song..." Unicron's optics were haunted. "They've been searching for us ever since we left Cybertron...all of them..."

"Huh?" Starscream's frustration level rose like compressed steam. If it built up much more, it'd blast out through his vocal processors.

Then he heard it; a faint, distant aria in the back corners of his mind. Another tone joined the first, then another...then millions. Green light glinted off the icy blue comets until, all at once, a swarm of glowing emerald baubles rushed out of the emptiness. They filled the area like fireflies, all of them singing an exquisite melody.

"My children," Unicron whispered. He closed his mouth and answered their song. His true Mini-Con voice, un-processed, chimed out a rapid succession of notes. Starscream realized he was calling each Mini-Con's name--there were millions and he knew them all by name.

_Unicron...?_

**They sensed our bonding process, Starscream. Each of them felt it as if they were the one having the experience. They saw what really happened that day...**  He rang out the final note and the Mini-Cons all rushed at him, a glowing tornado that brought light to the darkness.

Starscream felt out of place in the moment. He hung back, silent, trying to wrap his motherboard around the situation. He retreated to sit on a nearby comet--far enough to be out of the way, yet still close enough that Unicron's back filled most of his view.

The Mini-Cons converged into a glowing replica of Unicron just long enough to clasp his hands and embrace him. Those that didn't join the swarm landed on his head and shoulders, coating him in light. For several seconds Unicron went rigid, his arms stiff at his sides...but slowly, almost timidly, he returned the hug. He cupped the back of the clone's head and kissed its cheek.

Tight, aching warmth flooded the bond. Starscream hugged himself as he watched some of Unicron's most painful wounds heal over.

At the height of the moment, the green replica glowed until it gently dispersed like pollen on the wind. Half gathered into an irregular ball and took off in the same direction from which they came. The other half coalesced again--this time into an image of Welder. It did a handstand on a nearby comet, giggled and flipped over to land on its aft.

Starscream covered his mouth so he wouldn't laugh and ruin the moment.

Unicron clapped his hands and held out his arms. The image jumped right into them, unafraid. Unicron pulled it to his chest--his eyes were so  _soft_...a look of complete adoration...and his huge, powerful hands were transformed into instruments of paternal gentleness.

Welder's image sang something that made Unicron's optics light up. Unicron grasped the replica under its armpits, faced away from Starscream and gently tossed it upwards, much like human fathers did with their children. Welder's image laughed and burst into a green Mini-Con cloud that spun away to join the others.

Starscream's laughter died. The Mini-Cons were leaving?

_Where'd they go?_

**They have lives now--they don't need me. One of them is a wheelchair for a little human girl, three are instruments for a Cybertronian band...I told them not to leave those lives on my behalf. My children...**

Unicron remained still until the Mini-Cons' glow disappeared in the distance. Then he turned slowly around. As his face slipped into view, his full lips parted and curved, softening his angular cheeks.

Starscream stood up and stared in awe. The image hung in his optics. It took hold of his Spark, tugged it loose and sent warmth crashing through his processors. He would never forget what he beheld as long as he existed.

Unicron was smiling.

_Smiling_.

Love flowed across their bond. It was a white light, a warmth, a melody without lyrics, an open book with no final chapter.

**Starscream...**  Unicron whispered,  **You did this.**

_I-- how?_

The dark god's avatar joined him on the jagged comet's surface. Starscream witnessed his smile up close. Its softness looked a little out of place on his angular features--yet seemed so perfectly  _right_. "You exist, Starscream."

It took a moment to sink in. Unicron mentioned their bond--and then it clicked. The Mini-Cons came all this way just to offer their forgiveness. Unicron was no longer a huge, hulking monster...he was once again their god, their father.

"See?" Starscream leaned on Unicron, "Welder would have done the same."

"You're right," Unicron said. Primus, that smile was so beautiful...it lit his face up like a silver sun. "He would have led the charge...and then he would have attached himself to your leg and asked a million questions about why you're blue."

Starscream chuckled, traced Unicron's smile with his lips and brushed his glossa across the dimple it created on his left cheek. Then he reached up and placed his hand over Unicron's optics, lightly kissing him again. "Take us to the holo-room...and no peeking through your array."

Their environment slowly melted from space to blackness illuminated by blue and gold. Starscream turned Unicron towards the light source and gently uncovered his optics. Twin reflections of the painting shone in them.

Unicron stood utterly still, as if he, too, became part of the art. The smile slipped off his lips and reappeared in his eyes, which shimmered around the outer edges. "Oh, Star _scream_..."

The Seeker grinned, "Like it?"

"You--you have painted  _love_ , Starscream...I-I can feel it. I can feel how you see me. I can feel-- _us_." Unicron took Starscream's hand and held on as if his touch alone kept him corporeal. "I can  _feel_..." His voice remained steady despite the warm, tear-inducing bursts bombarding their bond like fireworks. "This is--without a doubt--your best work. It pleases me, Starscream." And he turned, looking straight into Starscream's optics, "But it pleases me more when viewed this way."

It  _ached_ , seeing Unicron so open, so transformed from the way he was when they met. A god of nearly infinite power and equal fragility. They had faced the worst life had to offer, survived their wounds and found each other--the odds of such a thing happening were the same as two sand grains drifting together from the opposite ends of Earth's oceans. But drift together they did. Now they swam in the sea of life as two parts of a whole.

"So," Unicron rubbed a maddening finger across Starscream's left wingtip, "Why?"

Starscream shivered as soft lips pressed to his throat. "Why what?"

Fangs glided over his jaw. "Why are we here?"

"Fate?" Starscream gasped. "Ooh..."

Hands pawed his chassis. "What determined that fate?"

"I-I dunno...m-maybe it just--mmh--happened..."

Lips against his audio sensor. "Or maybe..." the flick of a tongue, warm and tingling, "...we are a story being written in another universe."

"Yeah, right!" Starscream couldn't stand the teasing anymore. He grabbed Unicron's horns and devoured his mouth. His lips tasted so good. "Stop being so damn nonsensical."

Unicron grinned again and moved behind Starscream, wrapping his arms around his waist and directing his eyes upwards. Starscream relaxed into his lover's embrace. The painting floated like a glowing ghost in the blackness. Its reflection danced through Starscream's optics as he bid a silent farewell to the hard work he put into his creation.

His likeness hadn't changed at all. It was still there, still reaching for the stars just beyond his grasp. He spent all his life wondering what to do with the  _other_  hand, which extended forward, purposeless and empty, until now.

_Freedom_  became Unicron holding Starscream's hand while he pulled the stars close enough to touch.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Subspace](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5294045) by [sinousine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinousine/pseuds/sinousine)
  * [The Boy Has Built a Catacomb](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5333096) by [sinousine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinousine/pseuds/sinousine)




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